Heh heh heh. How do you like this one? This is one of the longest chapters yet! It actually went by smoother than usual, which was a surprise considering that i had a high pedestal to step up to after that Sasori fight. By the way, anyone who reads the manga, do you get the feeling things are moving onto a new series? Chapter 468 is giving me a strange feeling, like Shippuden is coming to a close and something else is showing up in its place. Anyway, I wonder if you can spot the secret in this chapter. It could be anything, a phrase, an object, a character, can you figure out what or who it is?

Disclaimer: I still can't believe Naruto of all people became a sage.


Unappreciated art

Something large and white flew out of the cavern, too fast for Ino to even make out. It ascended into the air, before slowing and turning around. Ino stared at it, it was a bird of some kind, but none like she had ever seen in her life.

"Give Gaara back!"

Ino's head whipped down at the mention of Gaara's name Naruto, Kakashi, Zenko and Yako ran out from the cave's entrance, each of them watching the bird above. Ino returned her gaze to the strange creature, before realising someone was standing atop it.

"If you want him back, you'll have to take him!" Deidara said, as the bird turned to its right. As it moved, Ino saw the faintest trim of red hair in the birds mouth, her eyes widening with shock.

Deidara took off, the bird flying at an incredible speed. Kakashi said something to Naruto, who nodded before looking at Zenko. Naruto and Yako then ran after him, but Kakashi and Zenko stayed behind. Kakashi glanced up at Ino, tapping his forehead, before following. Ino understood. She formed a hand sign, pointed it at Kakashi, then focused. After a few seconds, she nodded, running up the rock and out of the valley, with Zenko close behind.

"You bastard!" Naruto cried, as he ran across the water. Deidara looked at him and waved, the mouth on his palm clearly chewing away.

Naruto jumped onto the wall, running along it. He steadily ascended, Yako staying close, while keeping up with Deidara. Kakashi, who had caught up, stayed below, keeping his eyes on both of them.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto cried, summoning a clone to his side. He held his hand and the clone ran his fingers across the space above Naruto's palm. The chakra spiralled into existence, forming a perfect Rasengan. The clone disappeared and Naruto kicked off the rock face, flying at Deidara, the Rasengan held forward. Deidara clenched his hand, a bemused look on his face.

"Art…" he said, opening his hand and throwing a small model bird at Naruto, "IS A BLAST!"

The bird came to life, flying straight for Naruto, who blinked, the only response he had time to give.

"TCHOW!"

The bird exploded, sending Naruto crashing into the rocks, rubble falling down to the water below. Naruto's head fell forward, his arms hanging limp.

"Well that wasn't much of a challenge!" Deidara said, with a look of surprise, "The Kyubi Jinchuriki really can't be that strong if this is all it took!"

"Snap out of it Naruto!" Kakashi ordered, landing beside his student. Naruto opened his eyes, blinking a few times before shaking his head. He looked at Yako, then Kakashi, who had his headband raised and his Sharingan revealed.

"Uh- right!" Naruto replied, pushing himself out of the rocks. Deidara smirked at them both, pushing his hair out of his face with his hand.

"So you have some stamina I see." he said, "Maybe then this won't be as boring as capturing your friend here!"

Naruto growled angrily, but Kakashi's raised hand kept him from acting recklessly.

"Although, I was curious at the time." Deidara continued, getting down on one knee, his arm resting on his thigh, "From what I'd learned, the Ichibi was supposed to provide an 'Ultimate Defence', but I didn't even have to use my Jutsu to take this guy out!"

"It's obvious that you've figured it out, there's no need to stall." Kakashi replied, "You know Gaara isn't the Ichibi Jinchuriki, and we know this was a trap set for Naruto."

"Well I'm not surprised." Deidara said, grinning, "In fact, if it weren't for Kisame-san's description of the Kyubi Jinchuriki, we wouldn't have even bothered with something so stupid!"

"I'm here now, so there's no need for you to keep Gaara!" Naruto yelled, "It's not like we're gonna try and escape!"

"Kisame-san was right, you really are an idiot!" Deidara replied, getting to his feet once more, "The only reason I kept this guy was as an insurance policy. In a heartbeat, I could kill him if I wanted!"

Naruto froze, his eyes wide with shock. He was right, if that giant bird was made of the same stuff he's just hit Naruto with, then Deidara could kill Gaara at any given moment.

"You want me… right?" Naruto asked, "Fine, take me in Gaara's place!"

"I don't think you're in any position to be making demands!" Deidara replied. Both Naruto's and Kakashi's eyes widened as the rocks behind them crumpled, and two giant white centipedes burst out, coiling around the two of them. Deidara grinned, a victorious look on his face.

"My art is unbeatable!" he said proudly. His eyes then widened, as he spun around. Naruto fell upon him, striking his chest with the Rasengan. Deidara fell of his bird, with Naruto on top of him. Deidara was too winded to move as the two of them feel into the water. Naruto glared as he continued his attack, the Rasengan shredding Deidara's cloak apart, then moving on to the next layer. Then, to Naruto's surprise, Deidara smirked. He then changed colour, or more precisely, lost all his colour, until he turned completely white.

"Shit!" Naruto thought.

"THOOM!"

The explosion threw Naruto out of the water, sending him flying high into the air. Kakashi leapt through the air, grabbing Naruto and putting him over his shoulder before he could fall back down below. Overhead, Deidara leapt from the bushes back down onto his bird, smirking to himself.

"As if Kakashi of the Sharingan would fall for a trick like that!" he said. Kakashi landed on the water, just as Naruto's head cleared.

"You need to stop being so reckless." Kakashi said, as he dropped Naruto back on his feet.

"Uh, sorry Kaka-sensei." Naruto replied, rubbing the side of his head, a slightly dazed look on his face. He and Kakashi looked back at Deidara, who reached into his pouch for more clay.

"Those clay figures of his are easy to read, you just need to figure out what they're modelled after." Kakashi said, watching Deidara with his Sharingan, "The movement patterns, the direction of attack, the delay until explosion and the strength of the explosion. He's in control of each of these factors, but each of these can be determined by what his 'art' appears to be."

"When you're done admiring my art, why don't you catch up?" Deidara said, suddenly flying off.

"Get back here!" Naruto yelled, running after him. Kakashi stayed close, an annoyed look on his face. Had Naruto even been listening?

"I need you to keep him occupied." Kakashi said, "I'll need time to work on this Jutsu."

"Got it!" Naruto replied, before his eyes suddenly shot to the direction they had come from, "Yako! Go help Sakura!"

Yako barked in acknowledgement before turning around and running off. Naruto increased his speed, outrunning Kakashi. Up ahead, he spotted what looked like tree roots that grew from one side of the valley to the other. He leapt up to them, getting closer to Deidara's level. He kept his eyes fixed ahead, and could faintly see the white bird in the distance, slowly growing larger as he caught up with it. Deidara looked back, grinning at Naruto. He then flicked his hand in the air, throwing what looked like a dozen tiny spheres. But then Deidara formed a hand sign, and a small cloud of smoke puffed around each of the spheres, which came to life. Naruto narrowed his eyes, trying to make out what they were. They looked like bugs, small bodies with long thin legs. They all landed on the roots, waiting for him. Naruto scanned the area up ahead, looking for a way past. Deidara kept his eyes on Naruto, waiting for the moment to detonate his explosives.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto cried, summoning six clones on each side of him. The clones each ran ahead of him, heading straight for the explosive bugs. They each threw shuriken at the bugs, but the clay creations just leapt out the way, jumping past the clones and heading for Naruto, who grunted in annoyance.

He leapt off the root he'd landed on, and headed straight for the explosives. He spun in kid air, until his back was to the water. Then, as he was metres away from the bugs, he kicked off an overhead root, forcing himself down to the water below. But the bugs still followed, jumping off the same, or other nearby roots, falling in the same direction as him. Naruto watched as they stretched out there bodies, making themselves fall faster. Making a quick decision, he formed a hand sign.

"Hari Jizo!" he cried, before reaching up to his hair. He winced as he pulled a single strand out, holding it between his fingers like a senbon. He then threw it, aiming for the closest bug. It pierced the clay and caused the bug to explode, forcing a chain reaction on the other bugs. Naruto smirked victoriously, just as one of the Bunshin grabbed his jacket and pulled him back onto the roots.

"There's plenty more where that came from!" Deidara yelled, still grinning as he dropped several small figures which, after a hand sign, turned into five fish, which dropped down into the water.

"Damn!" Naruto thought, "Now I've gotta watch out for attacks from below as well?!"

But he wasn't too troubled. His main priority was still retrieving Gaara, a few explosives wouldn't be enough to stop him. Nonetheless, he decided to make it a lot more difficult for Deidara.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he cried, adding a further eleven clones to the ones that were already created, making a grand total of seventeen clones. All but on of the clones each went ahead of him, forming four groups of two on his left, and four on his right. Then, all together, the clones created nine Rasengan, eight ahead, and one in Naruto's hand. Then, the clones with the Rasengan moved into formation up ahead, creating I straight and narrow path ahead for Naruto, who held his Rasengan in both hands close to his chest.

"This isn't going to be easy." he thought, "And I'm pretty sure it's going to hurt."

Putting his thoughts aside, he allowed the other eight clones to pick him up, holding him with his back to the sky. The clones then increased their speed, heading for the ones that held their Rasengan outwards. Naruto was tempted to shut his eyes, even more so to back out of this plan, but he ignored both urges, and instead focused on his target. The clones then threw him forward with all their might, sending him flying through the air, and into the hall of Rasengan's. he felt the chakra of every sphere as they pushed him forward, propelling him at an incredible speed. He shot through the air, the scene around him blurring roots overhead and below passing faster than he could make them out. He was catching up with Deidara at an insane speed, too fast for the artist's bird to react in time. Naruto outstretched his arms, holding his Rasengan out. He struck the clay bird and tore right through it, shredding the clay aside. He was slowed down significantly by the substance, but still moved fast enough to tear through the birds mouth, with Gaara in his arms. Deidara glared as he saw his hostage and his quarry appear on the other side. But this was the least of his worries, he knew this very well. The chakra of the Rasengan had forced a reaction in his clay, and he could sense what was about to happen, having time enough to react. He leapt off his ride, just as it exploded, and used the force to increase his jump, landing on the ground above.

Naruto, on the other hand, landed on a root, placing Gaara down on the wooden surface. Naruto watched Gaara, and couldn't help but think how strange he looked, with all that colour in his face.

"Katsu!" Deidara cried. Naruto whipped his head around, looking up at Deidara in shock. Naruto had failed to realise that when he'd attacked Deidara's bird, small bits of clay had clung too his clothes. He didn't realise this until they exploded, sending him flying from the root and into the water. Gaara, who also had traces of clay on him, wasn't so violently affected, but was thrown just enough to send him over the edge. He fell several feet, but never reached the water. Another clay bird flew in and grabbed him with it's mouth, holding his body in place as it flew to Deidara's position. The artist watched as the ripples on the water slowly faded away, an annoyed look on his face.

"He'll live." he said, speaking to his bird, "Besides, it's too early to capture him. We need the Ichibi Jinchuriki first."

He jumped onto the birds back, just as they clay figure ascended once more. The bird passed over the trees, heading off unknown direction. But it didn't get very far, for that was when Kakashi showed up once more, his left eye shut tight.

Naruto's vision blurred in and out. He could feel the water around him, and could see the thin streams of red that he knew was his blood. But he also felt tired. That attack had winded him, and he had fell into the water before he could take another breath, so his air supply was almost completely gone. As it was, things were looking pretty hopeless right now. But despite this, Naruto's thoughts weren't on his situation.

"Did Yako make it in time?" he wondered, as the sunlight faded away, "I had a bad feeling, but is she ok now?"

He barely registered the pair of arms that moved beneath him, or that the sunlight was returning. He almost felt like going to sleep, he just felt so tired.

But then when he broke through the surface, the shock woke him back up, as did the sudden glare of sunlight. He coughed a few times, trying to get some air back in his lungs. When his vision finally cleared, he looked to his rescuer.

"Kaka-sensei." he muttered, "I got reckless again. Is Gaara ok?"

"I'm afraid he has been recaptured." Kakashi replied, as he stood on the water, placing Naruto back on his feet. Naruto swayed slightly, but maintained balance, "Ino-chan should be nearby, get her to heal your wounds and then catch up with me."

With that, he disappeared, revealing that he had been a Kage Bunshin. Naruto blinked a couple of times, before glancing at himself. He had several scrapes on his arms, entire patches of skin missing. They were bleeding, but the water had helped to slow it down. His clothes also had several burn marks in them, but for the moment, his pain was numbed, something which he was grateful for. He looked up the rock face, remembering Kakashi's orders. He could faintly sense Zenko's chakra, which meant Ino wasn't far away either. He headed up the rock face, the shock of the cold air giving him the adrenaline to run, but the weight of the water on his clothes forcing him to walk. When he finally reached the top, he could see Ino up ahead, and she could see him. She ran over to him, spotting his wounds easily.

"How the hell did you manage that?!" she asked, sitting him down on the ground.

"I screwed up." he replied, his eyes distant, "I had him, I got him away from that guy. But I made a stupid mistake, and lost him again."

Ino's gaze softened slightly at this, it looked like Naruto was taking this even harder than she was. However, the hell was she going to admit that.

"Ow!" Naruto complained, as Ino pressed onto one of his wounds.

"At least your nerves aren't dead!" Ino said, as if that was the purpose of her action, "Now shut up and let me work!"

Naruto did so, watching silently as she held her hands above his cuts, the skin slowly growing back. Ino frowned as she did this.

"It's strange." she muttered, "This is easier than it should be."

"Oh, yeah." Naruto replied, "That's part of the Jinchuriki deal."

Ino paused for a second, before continuing with the healing.

"You said… that Gaara was a Jinchuriki." she said, quietly, "What did you mean by that?"

Naruto hesitated, looking at Ino's doubtful face.

"Sorry, it's not really my place." he replied, "I don't wanna say anything behind Gaara's back."

After a second, Ino nodded, showing she understood.

"You're right." she told him, as she moved onto his other arm, which was equally injured. But before she could start, the two of them were surprised by a loud noise. Off to the distance, where they had come form, a large dust cloud appeared, and a giant, red something flew off into the air, crashing Ino the ground somewhere else.

"Isn't that where…" Ino said, trailing off.

"Yeah." Naruto replied. He knew he should be worried. What ever the hell that was, it was either a failed Jutsu, or someone was really mad. But for some reason, he felt cool. Maybe he just had confidence in those three. He couldn't help but smirk, he wondered what trouble Yako was bringing for that other Akatsuki member.

Ino, who had returned to fixing Naruto up, found herself feeling uneasy. She kept glancing at Naruto, who had his eyes firmly fixed on the area he felt Gaara was.

"Ino, do you think you could speed things up?" he asked, without looking at her, "It doesn't need to be a hundred percent, just enough so I can get going."

"Don't be an idiot!" Ino scolded, "If you face the enemy in this condition, you won't last long at all!"

She kept her eyes fixed on Naruto's face, but he showed no reaction whatsoever.

"He's getting further away." he said, "I can feel it. Kakashi's a great Shinobi, but that other guy's cunning, he's always planning ahead. He's almost like an enthusiastic Shikamaru."

"I can't even begin to imagine that." Ino replied, staring at the wound she was healing, "But if there were such a thing, it'd be pretty bad."

"Yeah."

Having finished on both of Naruto's arms, she moved onto the minor wounds on his chest, back and legs. They didn't need much work, it looked like that Jinchuriki thing was pretty effective. She let out an exhale, settling down. Then she looked at Naruto angrily and punched him on his still sensitive arm.

"AH! What the hell?!" Naruto exclaimed, looking at Ino as if she was insane.

"There's plenty more where that came from if you don't quit screwing around and save Gaara-kun!" Ino said, before pointing in the direction Naruto had been looking, "Now move it!"

Naruto blinked before nodding. He got to his feet and ran off, heading after Kakashi.

He leapt straight over the valley, landing neatly on the other side. He ran into the trees, searching for any sign of his sensei or that Akatsuki guy. But when he could find no traces, he began feeling desperate. He started running in different directions, hoping for some tracks to come into view. He had been out of action for only a few minutes, but already it seemed like the battle had moved on quite a distance.

"What the?!" Naruto exclaimed, as he finally saw something. It looked like a black branch, with a pale leaf on the end. He ran over to it, before skidding to a stop. That was no branch. The tongue hanging out of the 'leaf' told him otherwise. It looked like Kakashi had managed to remove that guy of his arm, but something didn't make sense. There was a small pool of blood coming from the end of the arm, but there was no trail. There were also no signs of battle, it was almost like the arm had just landed here. But if that was the case, was Kakashi fighting from the sky?

Naruto decided to scale a tree, running to the uppermost branch. He scanned the skies, but the only birds there were real, and all of them were flying away. He almost jumped back down, when something hit him.

That smell. He could definitely smell smoke. He looked slightly to the right, to where the smell was coming from. It was his first lead, he decided to follow it.

He ran across the trees, chasing the scent to its point of origin, before landing on the ground.

There was a large burn mark on the ground, the grass blackened and crumbling to dust. He looked around the area, there were similar, smaller patches on the trees and grass around him. Had Kakashi-

"Is that?" Naruto thought, as he picked up on something, "Yes! Zenko's chakra!"

He immediately ran off, following the weak, but steadily growing stronger trail of chakra. He felt it zigzag around the trees, but the general direction remained the same. That must have meant that Zenko attacked that guy, chasing him through here. If that was the case…

"There!" Naruto thought, as he saw the red fox up ahead. As he drew nearer, he saw Kakashi crouched down next to a large white mound, it looked like that guy's clay.

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto cried, as he finally caught up with them. Kakashi looked up at Naruto, his hand pressed against his left eye.

"Naruto, you're a little late." he said, "That guy got away. However, Zenko here managed to pull of an incredible move."

Naruto looked at Zenko, who was sitting, head cocked, tongue lolling. Naruto looked at the white mound, sensing Zenko's chakra on it. When he also realised that it was the head of Deidara's bird, he grinned broadly.

"Great job Zenko!" he cheered, throwing his arms into the clay.

"Yeah… don't mind me…" Kakashi muttered, an exhausted look on his face.

Naruto carefully pulled Gaara out, laying him down on the ground once more. He looked up at Kakashi, who had his fingers pressed against his earpiece.

"It looks like team Gai have intercepted him." he said, frowning slightly, "They are currently engaging him."

"Do they know about his Jutsu?!" Naruto asked, a worried look on his face.

"I've removed him of both his arms." Kakashi replied, "He won't be able to access that clay of his during a fight."

The three of them then looked up as they heard the sound of metal on metal. Not too far from their position, they could see five figures running through the trees, heading in their direction.

"He isn't…" Kakashi breathed, his eyes wide with shock. He looked a little to the left, his expression of deep concern. Naruto followed his gaze, spotting the rest of the clay bird lying in a heap not far form where they were, "Watch out! He's a long range fighter that uses his clay for explosives!"

But he was too late. Deidara landed on the ground, the clay bird lying between him and team Gai. He wasted no time in biting into the clay, chewing it fervently. He leapt over to the other side of his bird, a victorious look on his face. Neji narrowed his eyes as Deidara began expanding, before they widened ion shock.

"Everyone, get away!" he cried, turning and running towards Naruto and Kakashi. The rest of the team asked no questions, the just ran as well. Deidara had now expanded to many times his size, his own torso threatening to swallow his head.

"ART…" he said, his voice deeper than before, "IS A BLAST! KATSU!"

He exploded, his body tearing apart as a giant ball of fire burst out of him, growing in every direction. It was catching up with team Gai fast, and they knew it.

"COME ON!" Naruto yelled. But then Kakashi put an arm on Naruto's shoulder, pushing him aside. He opened his left eye, revealing a strange, different Sharingan.

"Kamui!" he called. Naruto's eyes widened in shock as the explosion began to shrink, spiralling into nothingness, until it was completely gone. He continued to watch in shock, even though there was nothing to see. Team Gai slowed down, landing in front of them.

"That was a close one." Gai said, "Thanks for the assist."

Kakashi didn't reply. He fell onto his hands and knees, before collapsing completely.

"Kaka-sensei!" Naruto cried, putting a hand on Kakashi's back.

"It is alright Naruto-san." Neji said, his Byakugan still active, "He is simply low on chakra."

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, resting back on his knees. He then looked up at team Gai, who looked pretty tired, even Gai and Lee had heavy breathing.

"Looks like it's over." Tenten said, "But what about Sakura-san and Sasuke-san?"

"I'm pretty sure they're doing alright." Naruto replied, feeling confident at the idea. He knew that Sakura would handle a fight in either two ways, with the Kyubi's chakra, she was an offensive close range fighter. If that were the case, her opponent would barely have enough time to defend. Without, she was a defensive mid to long range fighter. In that scenario, her opponent wouldn't get near her. If there was one thing Naruto knew, he loved watching Sakura fight.

Naruto looked up at Gai, who returned his look.

"Ino is back there, she'll need to check Gaara." Naruto said.

"That's right." Gai replied, pressing his fingers against his earpiece, "Ino-chan, mission accomplished. Head over to our position, Gaara-kun and Kakashi-kun could do with checking over."

He then gave Ino coordinates, before shutting off. He then looked back, a serious look on his face.

"Maybe we should give back up to your team mates." he said, speaking to, but not looking at, Naruto.

"Nah, you'd only get in their way." Naruto replied, smiling to himself, "Besides, we should probably look for that guy."

Gai, Lee and Tenten frowned at Naruto. Neji however, smirked.

"It seems you really have grown, Naruto-san." he said, "However, wherever he is, he is outside the range of my Byakugan."

"What are you saying?!" Tenten asked, feeling out of the loop.

"Isn't it obvious?" Neji asked, cocking a brow, "That wasn't the real enemy."

Lee's enormous brows raised in shock.

"Is that true?!" he asked, looking to Gai for confirmation.

"I don't really know enough about that guy to be sure." Gai replied, "But if Neji thinks so, then it's a definite possibility."

"It's definite." Naruto said, "That guy, he kept calling those bombs of his 'art'. Guys like that don't usually only wanna die by their own hand, and they'll want everyone to see."

"That's a fair evaluation." Neji agreed, as his Byakugan disappeared. He settled down, sitting against a tree. Tenten did the same, setting aside the large scroll that was usually strapped to her back. Everyone else had a rest as well, although gain and Lee remained standing. About a minute later, Ino appeared, running through the trees.

"Gaara-kun!" she cried, falling to her knees immediately. She hurriedly checked his pulse, before letting out a sigh of relief, "He's ok, just sedated."

Naruto nodded, leaning back on his hands. He looked to Zenko, who looked back.

"You need a rest?" Naruto asked. Zenko barked in reply, and Naruto nodded, "Then could you show them where we are?"

Zenko barked once more, before running past Naruto, into the trees. He watched as the fox left, before returning his gaze to Ino.

"I'll remove the sedative." she said, more to herself than anyone else. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a scalpel. She then rolled up Gaara's sleeve, before reaching out with the scalpel. But before the metal could reach Gaara's skin, sand rushed to stop it.

"What the?!" Naruto breathed, his brow raised.

"You are too close."

Naruto got to his feet, moving further away. As he made distance, the sand slowly fell back down, landing on Gaara's arm. Ino glanced up at Naruto, a confused look on her face. But she shook it off, and brushed the sand from Gaara's arm. She then set to work, cutting the skin and removing the sedative. Naruto moved to behind a tree, leaning against it and looking out to the forest. It looked rather dark out there, the trees were thick and the sunlight couldn't break through very well. As it was, Naruto was covered in shadow, with only a few rays of sun breaking through the leaves, leaving a strange pattern on his face and clothes. Lee showed up to his left, smiling at him.

"The mission is a success." Lee said, "We've retrieved Gaara, that's all that matters."

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto replied, "But I was next to useless. I screwed up."

Lee's smile twitched slightly, not in an annoyed manner, more like in understanding. He looked up at the leaves, seeing the sunlight breaking through.

"You know that I cannot use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu?" he asked, rhetorically, "There were quite a few times that I myself felt useless, like I was only getting in the way."

Naruto looked at Lee, his brow raised.

"I remember my first real mission." Lee continued. Naruto couldn't help but smile, it seemed he wasn't the only one who considered D-ranks to not be real missions either, "We were to escort a trade caravan to Yugakure, when we encountered a strange Shinobi, who sought to kill not only the people in the caravan, but us as well. I remember feeling that killer intent of his, and freezing to the spot. But Neji-kun and Tenten-chan had no such trouble. They immediately defended the traders, while Gai-sensei intercepted the enemy. In the end, Neji-kun had to pull me out of the way, and put me alongside the traders they were defending."

Lee closed his eyes for a second, resisting a shudder.

"I still remember that Shinobi's smile." he said, "And that necklace he wore. The sunlight struck it and burned the medallion into my eyes for a minute. A circle and a triangle. That image will remain in my mind for a long while."

Lee looked back at Naruto, who was staring silently.

"Gai-sensei defeated the Shinobi, and we completed the mission. But I felt like I had failed. Neji and Tenten had both done splendidly, while I stood terrified. But Gai-sensei told me something. He said that 'Without fear, we cannot feel courage. Without sadness, we cannot feel joy. And without courage or joy, we can never become stronger.'"

Naruto stared at Lee for a second longer, before looking down And smiling.

"I get it." he said, "I can't believe I'm getting depressed over this. I should just be happy that Gaara's ok."

He then shook his head, straightening up.

"What the hell am I saying?!" he cried, "Gaara's alright! We did it!"

Naruto and Lee exchanged high fives, both of them grinning broadly.

"Arf!"

Naruto whipped his head around, his grin widening as he saw Zenko and Yako running to greet him. Further back, Sakura and Sasuke were walking their way, Sasuke supporting Sakura. Naruto ran to meet them, and as he got close, Sakura removed his arm form Sasuke's shoulder and ran to Naruto, the two of them throwing their arms around each other.

"We did it!" Sakura cried, "We beat him!"

"I knew it!" Naruto replied. Sakura let go of him, smiling. Naruto looked up at Sasuke, grinning, "Give it to me straight. You were no use at all, weren't you?"

"Shut up." Sasuke replied, smirking. The three of them rejoined the others, Ino glancing up at them.

"The sedatives gone, he just needs time to wake up." she said, "Are you guys injured?"

"Just a few scrapes." Sasuke replied, slumping against a tree, "We just need some rest as well."

Naruto and Sakura sat down at the same tree, with Naruto's arm around Sakura's shoulder. Gai and Lee sat down as well, as they all took this opportunity to rest. Kakashi had rolled over on his back, taking a much needed nap. Sasuke lifted his hand to brush some hair out of his face, and something caught Tenten's eye.

"No way!" she said, getting up and walking over to Sasuke. She sat down beside him and without asking, lifted a side of his cloak.

"Uh… there a problem?" Sasuke asked, uncomfortable with the close contact.

"You've got seals inside your cloak!" Tenten exclaimed, "That's incredible!"

"Huh?" Sasuke said, looking at the seals, "Oh, yeah, it's just something I came up with. I call it Kuchiyose: Raiko Kenka."

Tenten looked at him, awestruck.

"So how does it work?" she asked. Sasuke gave her a strange look, surprised that she was showing such an interest.

"Well, by placing small seals in strategic places, the user can reduce the time it takes between summoning and using the weapon." he replied. He continued, the explanation, but neither Naruto or Sakura felt like listening in. They gave each other a knowing look, before smiling.

"Quit pretending." Naruto said, simply. Sakura laughed a little, before sighing and slumping.

"That fight really took a lot out of me." she said, closing her eyes. Naruto grinned.

"Did you use it?" he asked, "That tree growing Jutsu?"

"Yeah." Sakura replied, smiling. Naruto had loved watching her training with that Jutsu. Because Jiraiya had also been able to use Doton Jutsu, her training in nature manipulation went by even faster than Naruto's and now she was even more skilled with Doton Jutsu than Naruto was with Futon, although Naruto hadn't really focused much on nature manipulation during the training trip.

"I wonder what Ero-Sennin will say when he hears about this?" Naruto said, smiling. Sakura was about to reply, but then Gaara stirred.

"Uh…" he breathed, sitting up.

"Gaara-kun!" Ino cried, throwing her arms around his neck. Gaara blinked, looking at the blonde hair in surprise.

"Ino-san?" he asked, looking confused. Sakura's smile faltered slightly. He called her 'san'.

"Does that mean Ino's feelings are unrequited?" she thought, "Or does Gaara just not know?"

Ino released Gaara, her eyes tearing up as she smiled happily. Gaara shifted slightly, till he was sitting more comfortably.

"I was knocked out by Akatsuki." he said, frowning to himself, "But now…"

He trailed off as his eyes fell on Naruto. The two stared at each other for several seconds, before Gaara surprised Naruto by smiling.

"Uzumaki Naruto." he said, "I should have known."

Naruto blinked, before grinning broadly.

"How the hell did you get yourself in this mess?" he asked, "You seriously telling me you let those pushovers get the better of you?"

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded, in a playfully reproachful manner. Gaara kept on grinning, just as Ino kept on smiling.

"You sure have changed." Naruto noted, "You've got even more colour in your face, and those dark rings are thinner than I remember."

"Thanks to you, I have finally been able to sleep comfortably." Gaara replied, nodding, "You have also grown exceptionally."

"Could you guys keep it down?" Kakashi asked, as he tried to get back to sleep. Everyone laughed, even Gaara.

* * * * *

That night, they had made it about a third of the way back to Konoha. Gai had had to carry Kakashi, who was still too weak to move. But they settled in a clearing, and although everything was feeling tired, they were in a celebratory mood.

"Naruto's only been back about a week, and already things are screwing up!" Sasuke smirked, causing Sakura and Tenten to laugh. Everyone sat facing the campfire, in relatively high spirits after the success of their mission. Sakura sat next to Naruto, Ino sat next to Gaara and Tenten sat next to Sasuke. As for Kakashi, Gai, Lee and Neji, they were all at their own trees.

"I'm not complaining!" Naruto replied, "Sakura and me are still Genin, we'd have probably gotten stuck with a crappy C-rank or something!"

"That's right, so are you two going to sign up for the next exams?" Ino asked, smiling at them.

"You bet!" Sakura replied, "No way are we staying Genin when Sasuke's a Jonin for crying out loud!"

"Neji-kun is also a Jonin." Lee said, gesturing to Neji.

"Are you kidding me?!" Naruto cried, "Man, this sucks!"

Another round of laughter echoed out at Naruto's dramatics, Neji being the only exception, but even he couldn't resist smirking.

Tenten started asking Sasuke how he came up with his seal idea, and Ino was talking inanely to Gaara, who listened, but didn't seem to be enjoying what he was hearing. Gai and Lee were being Gai and Lee, and Kakashi was once again reading his Icha Icha book. Naruto looked down at Sakura, who was nodding off. He smiled at her, before lifting his arm and standing. She blinked a little, looking up at Naruto questioningly, her eyes half closed.

"I gotta go." he said, simply. Sakura didn't reply, just rested her head against the tree and closed her eyes. Naruto walked away from the festivities, looking for a tree that was out of sight from the others. He didn't really want them to see him take a whiz after all. He made his distance, before standing with a suitable tree between him and the others. He unzipped his trousers, and let loose.

About ten seconds later, he zipped back up and turned to his left.

He froze, eyes widening in shock. Deep inside his head, he could hear the Kyubi snarling.