Chapter Eleven: Beautiful

Naruto's team jumped from tree to tree at high speed. Rock Lee had clenched his fists with determination. Tenten smiled and sharpened the blade of one of her Kunai. Shikamaru stared intently forward. His brain was rattling vehemently.

They were all prepared for the fight. None of them felt the slightest hint of fear. They had already been through too much in their young lives. They had already stood up to many terrible enemies.

Naruto gritted his teeth and focused his entire perception on the unknown presence before him. Who was that? What were their intentions? Had any of the former enemies survived the fourth shinobi war? That simply couldn't be true, the fox boy silently thought to himself. In addition, for some reason, the presence seemed very familiar to him.

"Hey, wait!"

Shikamaru gave a sudden hand signal and the troop suddenly stopped. Rock Lee looked at him in wonder.

"What's wrong, Shikamaru?"

But the braided man turned directly to Naruto and asked:

"How far away are the enemies?"

In response, Naruto looked into the deep blackness of the treetops and spoke after a few seconds:

"Another hundred meters in this direction. They are not moving at the moment."

Naruto pointed with his index finger to a spot in the forest. Shikamaru nodded with a serious expression.

"Very well. Listen," he turned his attention to all his companions and raised his arms explaining, "We could attack frontally, but we don't know about Kurenai's group at the moment. Since we left, the enemy could have already discovered them. Therefore we have to get as close as possible to them without being noticed in order to check what exactly the current situation is. Do you understand?"

The haunting look of the Nara hit each and every one of them. Rock Lee stretched out his thumb and winked rigorously. Tenten grinned and confirmed the plan with an overly clear "Sure!". Naruto said nothing, but nodded silently in agreement.

Shikamaru immediately took the floor again.

"Okay. We'll split into two groups, each independently west and east of the enemy group. The darkness and the structure of the forest should give us perfect protection. We'll take advantage of that," he reached into his side pocket, pulled out three scrolls and threw one of the parchments to each of his comrades, " This way you can give a strong vertical light signal in case your position is revealed. So the other group knows and can react accordingly."

The three remaining troop members stared at the scrolls in their hands. The eyes of the tactician swayed from one friend to the next. He recognized in their facial features that, just like him, they did not know what was about to await them. The information was scarce. The pure facts did not seem promising. However...

Shikamaru turned his attention to Naruto, who did not make a sound and looked only with an indistinct expression towards the interior of the forest. The shadow master was worried. If the news of the Anbu were indeed true, they would be facing an enemy that could potentially affect Naruto emotionally. And Shikamaru did not like this train of thought. Was this planned long ago? Nearly all empires knew that the hero of nations was an extremely dangerous weapon. And Konohagakure possessed that very weapon. Since it was difficult to defeat Naruto in battle, it was quite possible that an unknown power was trying to break the spirit of the blond head by confronting him with his past instead.

Shikamaru shook his head gruffly. There was peace among the greats of the world. Who would benefit from conjuring up a war at this time at all?

Naruto noticed the conflict within his longtime friend. Calmly and neutrally, he therefore asked:

"Is everything all right with you, Shikamaru?"

The Nara smiled forcedly while a bead of sweat ran down his forehead.

"Yes, no problem. Let's carry out the plan."

His comrades nodded at him. And without further delay, they split up and jumped in different directions.

...

...

Hectic patter of feet echoed from the cave walls.

"Quick! We must hurry. Shino, bring the water!"

Kurenai's orders were insistent, but enveloped slight panic and fear. She was bent over Kiba's convulsing body. Again and again she tried to change the blood-soaked bandages. Her hair strands were now completely stuck together, as blood and sweat had completely mixed in. It was an unpleasant feeling, but she did not care. She was a ninja. Looks didn't matter as long as you successfully completed your mission and all comrades returned home safely. And here the life of her former student was at stake.

Akamaru barked croaking. He too seemed to be plagued by fear. He constantly licked the face of his owner to comfort him. Kiba's facial features constantly changed from laughing mouth corners to horrible expressions of pain. His skin had already turned ash gray. The constant blood loss took him brutally.

Shino hurried to collect water. For that he caught the falling drops from the stalactites in the immediate surroundings. It needed a while until his summoned insects carried enough water with them to bring it carefully to their camping place.

Sasuke watched the scene with an indistinct expression. His eyes had hardened and the corners of his mouth twitched again and again. One could only guess what was going on inside him.

Suddenly, the Uchiha turned away and focused his eyes on the cave entrance. The distant point of light that had existed before had disappeared. Darkness enclosed the group aside the fireplace. Kurenai finished the change of bandages. Then she gratefully accepted the water from Shino and dripped it little by little into Kiba's mouth.

When they were done supplying their comrade, Kurenai leaned on her knees and stood up. Finally she stepped to Sasuke's side and noticed:

"Night has fallen. We will probably be stuck here for a few more hours, won't we?"

The young man beside her seemed to ignore her. He did not look at her and did not answer. Kurenai had to smile involuntarily. Foreign people would have felt offended by this guy long ago. They would have taken his manner as an disrespectful gesture. But the ninjas from Konoha knew better. Despite the fact that Sasuke Uchiha was still ostracized in the village and he was considered a spared criminal, they could count on his reliability as an informant for Konoha in the last two years. Although Kurenai did not agree with the idea of the sixth hokage at the beginning, she had to admit in the meantime that she had been mistaken about the descendant of the Uchiha. More than once, he had defended the village without the villagers noticing a single spark of his actions. Even when he had recently rushed to defend Konoha, when the moon's massive meteorites threatened to wipe out the country completely, he had received no honors. He had become a shadow. The guardian of the Land of Fire, whom no one perceived as such.

The pain-distorted moaning of Kiba made Kurenai startle from her thoughts. Sasuke, too, stared at the dog lover with his right eye, while the left was hidden behind his raven black hair. The Sharingan, whose blood-red pupil glowed in the dark, almost narrowed when it saw the suffering body beneath it.

Kurenai resignedly closed her eyes. Shino stepped up to them and spoke in a deep, calm voice:

"What is going to happen now? Kiba will not live to see the morning under these circumstances."

Akamaru barked weakly and the three comrades turned to him. The usually so snow-white hair was wetted with dirt and blood. But the dog seemed to ignore this. Faithfully devoted, he licked again and again, wrapped in worry, over the face of his master. Kiba croaked painfully to him:

" D-Do not worry, Akamaru. I-... I am perfectly fine. As if ... uh ... as if something like this is killing me. ARGH!"

Suddenly, the dog lover spit up blood. Kurenai's eyes widened in panic and she instinctively wanted to kneel down to her former student. However, a strong hand held on to her shoulder and she turned around in horror. Sasuke still didn't pay any attention to her. His focus was directly on the darkness in front of them. But his gloomy words fully hit the ears of the master.

"He has found us."

They all turned towards the cave exit. And then they froze. Nothing but blackness stretched out before them. But two small dots shimmered in the darkness and slowly came closer. The Rinnegan literally pierced their souls.

...

...

"Do you see anything yet, Naruto?"

Tenten had laid down in a bush and placed her huge scroll next to her. The night surrounded her. It was difficult to find individual contours in the area.

Her headset on her right ear cracked uncomfortably. Then the clearly recognizable voice of the fox boy came up. He was anxious to whisper.

"I see nothing. But I feel that someone is standing right in front of us."

In the same breath, the analytical voice of Shikamaru sounded mechanically tinny.

"Lee and I are also in position. Wait for my signal. It seems the enemy force has separated as well."

For a brief moment, there was silence. But all of a sudden, the crackling of the headset could be heard again. A strangely worried Naruto spoke up:

" Guys..."

The braid wearer answered promptly:

"What is the matter? Is the enemy moving?"

Silence once again enveloped the situation. No one spoke. Finally Shikamaru's annoyed but slightly excited voice sounded:

"Naruto? Answer me, you idiot! What has happened?"

Even Tenten did not know what was going on. The blond boy had to be placed only a few meters away from her. But she hadn't noticed any movement. Had Naruto perhaps sensed something?

Then there was another crackling in her ear. An unusually worried tone of voice accompanied the fox boy's pitch.

"I beg you ... be careful. Flee, if it is inevitable. I will protect you all if necessary."

…

His comrades fell silent. Even the forest seemed to be muted. Tenten had opened her mouth wide in amazement. She had never heard words of the former whirlwind from Konoha before in this way. He had always stood up for his friends and even risked his life for them. But never before had he so actively shared his concern for them. Normally, he was the first to rush at the enemy. Regardless of losses. He had already proven in countless missions that he was unfortunately not a good team leader.

But this statement of his was unique. He thought of the group. Before it could be estimated how the situation really was, he was already thinking about the consequences. This was in no way typical of Naruto.

When Tenten thought about these words carefully, she could only think of one role that could bear such weight as a statement. In the end, did Naruto dare to take the first step? Would this lively chaos ninja ever really be able to realize his dream? Could he be the next...

"Got it, Naruto! We trust in you."

Lee, of all people, answered the hero of nations with full enthusiasm. Tenten was forced to grin. Then she sighed resignedly. She had just noticed that she had two unreasonable chaos ninja on her team. This could not end well.

After all, it was Shikamaru who addressed Naruto in a decisive way:

"Your speech in honor. But I don't think we have several options here. Our mission is to save our comrades. And we will do that. I have not calculated any other outcome. Do you understand, Naruto?"

Even though Shikamaru sounded strict and tense, Tenten was sure that a smile resonated in his tone. The weapons specialist knew that the Nara was as surprised and touched by the thoughtful words of his longtime friend as she was.

The fox boy answered immediately and in his usual self-confident manner:

"All right! That's how I see it too, for real!"

But at exactly the same moment Tenten heard a rustling. Someone was walking through the forest, about ten meters away from her. She instantly adjusted her microphone and asked in a hurry:

"Did you hear that?"

Shikamaru immediately replied in haste:

"No. There's nothing here. Apparently we are too far away."

Naruto's agitated voice was heard at once:

"There's only one person. I didn't notice directly how he approached us, because he seemed familiar. But it must definitely be an enemy."

Lee responded enthusiastically:

"What should we do, Shikamaru? Do we attack?"

Seconds passed. No answer echoed through the headset. The tactician seemed to go through all the possibilities. The squad waited for the next order.

All of a sudden, Naruto burst with anger and shouted:

"What is going on? Shikama..."

But their leader stifled the blond head in the middle of it and he commanded resolutely:

"On the count of three, we attack with a time delay from both sides. First, Tenten marks the enemy's location with a color bomb so Lee and I can pinpoint the exact position. Then we immediately attack from behind while you two secure the attention of your opponent."

His three comrades answered simultaneously:

"AYE!"

Then there was silence for the last time. It was the quiet before the storm. What kind of enemy was waiting for them? Should it really be Pain? But what were his motives? Or were they soon facing a completely different foe? Was an unknown individual once again threatening the ninja world? Why couldn't there be eternal peace among humans? Could an answer to each of these questions be found?

Shikamaru began his counting rhythm.

"One."

Tenten was already holding her scroll.

"Two."

She felt Naruto digging his hands into the ground a little distant from her.

"THREE!"

There was no more time to think. In a flash, both Tenten and Naruto raced towards the presence before them. The weapons specialist opened the seal of her mighty scroll and immediately the first pages of the paper fluttered wildly in the air. Ten kunais appeared as if from nowhere. The color bombs were attached to the kunais, including the light seal of Shikamaru. Without even a moment's hesitation, Tenten grabbed the knife-like ninja weapons and, in the midst of the rapid sprint, threw them terrifyingly precisely in a semicircle around the shadowy figure. Immediately the bombs exploded and bright light shone in a variety of colors. The forest was brightly illuminated.

Naruto did not hesitate for a single moment. He made a tremendous leap and jumped at top speed toward the enemy while roaring:

"RASENGAN!"

Like in slow motion, he flew through the air. Tree after tree rushed past him. The shape became clearer and clearer. Until finally the hero of the nations could capture the whole situation completely.

His eyes narrowed to slits in a flash. In his hand pulsed the blue, chaotic chakra energy, which literally whirled around like uncontrollable windstorms. Should this jutsu hit a body, it would be almost pulverized and thrown away.

Tenten smiled confident of victory. The opponent did not move. A perfect strike was possible. The impact should be heard in milliseconds...

A hissing sound occurred. The Rasengan disappeared shortly before the collision. Naruto landed directly in front of his opponent. He still had his hand outstretched forward. But there was no hit. Apparently the fox boy had dissolved the jutsu just before the impact.

Tenten's face took on shocked features. She called out to her comrade in panic:

"N-Naruto? What was that? Why did you stop?"

But the man she spoke to remained motionless. His supposed opponent was only one meter away from him. They could almost touch each other. Naruto's eyes twitched. His face was as white as a sheet. His body trembled. The hero of the nations wanted to say something, but apparently he did not succeed. With unbelieving eyes he looked at the person before him.

"NARUTO!"

Shikamaru and Lee suddenly stormed out of the treetops. The Nara had immediately activated his shadow powers and sent them towards the unknown. Lee, on the other hand, rushed forward frontally with his fist.

Seconds earlier, the figure had also stared indispensably at Naruto and had not moved a spark. But when it saw the attacks behind it, it reacted at an incredible speed. At first the person skilfully avoided the shadow structures. It was almost as if the person was performing a dance. Then he made a quick movement to the side, blocking Lee's fist with the left palm and letting him run into nothing.

Then they all faced each other. It was a stalemate situation. Tenten, Shikamaru and Rock Lee got ready to fight. But Naruto still stayed in place. The weapons specialist gave him a worried look.

"Something is wrong with Naruto. He failed to carry out his attack."

Shikamaru gritted his teeth hard. Then he addressed Naruto annoyed:

"Weren't you just trying to protect us all? Get a move on, idiot. Or do you know this guy?"

With these words, Naruto's comrades took a closer look at their enemy. He wore a green Haori kimono with a brown scarf. A kind of skirt reached up to his knees. His dark hair fell over his shoulders on both sides. But most noticeable was the white mask with the red stripes he wore. It had similarities with the masks of the Anbu, even if it did not show any animal form. In addition, the forehead showed the symbol of Kirigakure.

This realization deeply confused the Konoha ninja. Shikamaru was the first to find his words again.

"What are you doing here, Kirigakure hunting ninja?"

But their counterpart did not answer. Instead, he turned his attention back to Naruto. Suddenly, a soft, almost feminine voice resounded:

"It has been a long time, dear Naruto. You have grown up."

The fox boy turned his attention to their competitor with eyes wide open. The opponent slowly raised his hand and grabbed his mask. Calmly he took it off.

A murmur went through everybody around him, because an enchanting, female face appeared. Rock Lee's chin dropped far down and steam shot out of his nostrils with excitement. Then he cried out joyfully:

"Wow! That's a girl! She is beautiful! And there's something familiar about her..."

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes in confusion. After he opened them again, he looked suspiciously in the direction of the strange enemy and murmured thoughtfully:

"What is going on here? Who is this?"

Tenten also looked at the girl intensely. The corners of her mouth twitched. Then she smiled broadly and a red glimmer formed on her cheeks.

Lee turned his head jerkily ninety degrees to the right towards his comrade and he asked excitedly:

"What's wrong, Tenten? Do you like women, too?"

The weapons specialist gave him a teasing look and winked. Finally she answered amused:

"That's not a girl."

Lee's head exploded.

"WHAAAAT? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? IT'S OBVIOUS..."

But the Tai-Jutsu master was directly broken off in his fury. Naruto had purposefully run past him. His eyes were still widened. Finally he said in a trembling voice:

"Y-You... You are the boy from back then. Who was with Zabuza. ...Haku."

A dreamlike smile played around the lips of the person addressed.

"That's right."

Although the mood was tense to the breaking point, their supposed opponent did not lose calm. With a cheerful expression, Haku stepped towards Naruto.

The fox boy was frozen again. Shikamaru pulled a Kunai and positioned himself threateningly for a new attack. Tenten was completely torn. Rock Lee also seemed to be overwhelmed by the given situation.

Slow-motion-like words formed on Naruto's mouth:

"How is this possible? You are dead..."

In the end, Haku reached the horrified blond man. Back when they first met, the Kirigakure ninja had been taller. But now, Haku looked up peacefully to see the face of the former enemy. With a loving expression he spoke:

"I knew you would become a great man."

At last, Haku raised his hand again and, to the shock of everyone present, gently touched Naruto's cheek. The chaos ninja was also speechless. No one moved.

Suddenly, noises came from the nearby forest. Crackling branches, quick steps. A group of people suddenly fought their way through the dense bushes.

"SHIKAMARU! There you are!"

The Nara immediately looked to the side and his features petrified with fright.

"I-I-I-INO? What are you doing here?"

Next to them were Ino, Sakura, Choji and Hinata. The four newcomers stared at their companions stunned. Their eyes were instantly focused on the spectacle in front of them: A beautiful girl was only a few inches away from Naruto. Her hand lovingly embraced his cheek. They looked at each other deeply. The fox boy seemed unable to move with excitement. The girl smiled with affection.

Sakura's amazement knew no bounds. Her thoughts were like a tsunami.

But that was nothing compared to what was going on in Hinata. The Hyuuga felt as if she had been attached to a heavy anchor and pulled down into the infinite depths of nothingness. No cry was heard. No wailing sounded. Pure nothing. Endless nothing. Blackness. Blackness...

...