Sarahgri99: Yeah, as much as love writing out the fight scenes, great stories are ones that balance out action, comedy and drama effectively. As for Sasuke reacting to Naruto's secret, well that will come in a later chapter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A week had passed since the failed invasion, and repairs to the village were very slow-going.

Tatsu hadn't expected to be summoned to a meeting with the elders Koharu and Homura, and met Shikamaru on the way in "Hey Shika."

"You too?" asked Shikamaru.

"Yeah, what's this about anyway?"

"Hell if I know, it's too damn early for a meeting like this anyway. Such a drag."

"I feel you, I was having a good dream too." Tatsu opened the door and went in first, only to see Koharu, Homura and Danzo sitting and facing them, with Kakashi, Asuma, Anko, Ibiki and Genma present as well "Oh, hi."

Kakashi gave an eye smile "Nice of you to join us Tatsu, you too Shikamaru." he got several nods of approval.

Homura stepped forward first "Thank you for joining us Tatsu Kamikaze, Shikamaru Nara. Due to your performances in the Chunin exams as well as the invasion, we would be honored to grant you both the promotion to the rank of chunin."

Tatsu and Shikamaru shared a surprised look, and Tatsu spoke first "Why only us? I'm honored by your decision, but there are others who did a lot more than me, especially Naruto and Sasuke."

Then Koharu stepped forward "Due to the invasion, it was almost decided that no one at all would receive a promotion. But in Shikamaru's case, the Third showed a great admiration for your match and his intentions were to have you promoted." she received a nod "And in your case Tatsu, your abilities, intelligence and pragmatism in battle have convinced us to promote you."

"I see."

"In regards to Naruto." Danzo finally spoke "He has not displayed a temperament or intellect fitting of a chunin, so he will not be promoted."

'Like I thought, they've got it out for him. Very well, and I'm guessing you're not promoting Sasuke because you didn't see enough of his capabilities before the match was interrupted?"

"Exactly."

Shikamaru received his chunin vest first, then leaned in to Tatsu "You heard that lame-ass excuse they gave for not promoting Naruto, you can tell those old bags out of him."

"Yeah I know." Tatsu whispered low enough so only he could hear "Especially Danzo, you'd better be careful of him."

"Right." then Shikamaru made his way out with Asuma.

Homura held out a vest to Tatsu "Congratulations on being promoted to the rank of chunin."

Tatsu accepted the vest and bowed "I'm honored."

"Also, there is one other thing." Kakashi spoke up.

Tatsu immediately knew what he meant "You mean Dosu's team that defected from the Sound."

"Yeah. Come with me."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi led Tatsu down to the Intel Division "You know what's gonna happen right?"

"I imagine they were hauled in for questioning." Tatsu guessed "Actually, I saw Dosu surrender willingly, the same with his teammates after I summoned them back from Mount Hakurei."

"Yeah, so that helps their case somewhat." Kakashi led him inside.

"About time you made it." Anko commented.

"You obviously don't know him." Tatsu pointed out, then saw Sasuke standing on the other side of the room, next to where Dosu's squad had been sitting "You got called in too?"

Sasuke sighed "Yeah, they wanted me to be there as a witness for their actions. Let me just start with this: He attacked my team, or me and Sakura since she abandoned Tatsu and Naruto, while I was unconscious. He willingly gave over his scroll and told us that Orochimaru was planning something, but he didn't know what. Then came Kabuto attempting to abduct Zaku and Kin, claiming that they were still of use to Orochimaru in some way, but then Kakashi interfered and Kabuto got away. In order to protect them, I used some of Tatsu's blood to take them to the home of the dragon summons."

"In the month that followed as well as the invasion, he saved my daughter twice, once from an attempted murder and once from enemy ninja." Inoichi continued "Now the only question is, why would you turn against Orochimaru so easily."

"Allow me to speak for my team." Dosu finally spoke "He sent us on a suicide mission, a fight with Sasuke after attempting to mark him. Then he was planning to use them as sacrifices for the Reanimation Jutsu. We could've gone anywhere when it was over. We could've left after the attack, gone to the Sand and told them it was Orochimaru who killed the Kazekage, but we didn't. We stood down and willingly came to you."

The jonin, as well as Tatsu and Sasuke, all shared a look, and Sasuke stepped forward "There's only one question now: What do you have that we could want?"

"I know the location of Orochimaru's hideouts, and I mean all of them. In exchange for asylum for me and my teammates in the village, I can give you their locations."

Kakashi then decided to test him and pointed to a map on the wall, then used a kunai to draw blood from his palm "How many?"

"5."

"Mark them."

Dosu did so.

Anko examined it, even though that was a very likely bluff "Yup, it checks out."

Kakashi looked at Dosu "Alright, you managed to save your and your teammates' asses. Since we're lacking a Hokage right now, we'll choose to keep you in the village, for now at least. You'll be under ANBU surveillance 24/7, and no leaving the village for any reason-"

"I don't think that last part will be necessary." a new voice cut in "I'll take care of him."

Kakashi turned to see a white-haired figure in the doorway "Master Jiraiya. Fine, we'll let you decide what to do with them."

"Well to be fair Kakashi, they did willingly turn themselves over and these two runts and my own apprentice can vouch for them. Let's show them a little more Leaf hospitality. I'll see if I can find a place for the three of them to stay."

"They can stay with me."

Kakashi's head snapped towards the one who spoke "Sasuke?"

"Dosu's already more than proven himself in my opinion, and they're his teammates so I choose to trust them." he took the key from Anko and uncuffed the three of them "Now then, what's your first move?"

"This." they all did the same thing simultaneously: ripping the Sound headbands off and crushing them under their feet.

"Alright, I'm convinced. Come on, I'm willing to let you guys stay at my compound."

Jiraiya nodded in approval "Works for me. I guess there's a good apple on a bad tree after all. Alright then, whichever one of you is Tatsu I wanna talk to you about something."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Next morning, things were getting edgy as two shadowy figures in straw hats and black cloaks with red clouds entered the village, one of them possessing the Sharingan.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke led the Former Sound Trio, Kin in particular, into his clan's compound and helped them to get settled "Alright guys, just let me know if you need anything."

"Sasuke, wait."

Sasuke looked back to see Kin standing behind him "Something wrong?"

"Well…" Kin then wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his neck, and he could tell she was gonna cry "Wh-Why are you doing all of this after all we've done?"

Sasuke slowly wrapped his arms around her back and rubbed it gently "What have you done? You were just carrying out your orders, what could I possibly be mad about? Besides, I can read people. You're a kind and gentle person, and I could see in your eyes that you were disgusted by the things you had to do. But you don't have to worry, I'll protect you from here on out."

"Th-Thank you…" the sobs turned into sniffles, then eventually turned into light snoring as she fell asleep in his arms.

'I guess I've got someone to protect after all.' he gently took her into his arms, kissed her forehead, and took her into one of the other rooms.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke woke up the next morning and found Kin firmly latched onto his chest 'Oh yeah, no matter what I tried she wouldn't let go. Still, she really looks beautiful when she sleeps.' then he blushed slightly, but it died down 'Great, Kakashi's turning me into a perv.' then he heard a knock on his window and found Tatsu there with a huge shit-eating grin 'Oh great.' he went over to the window "What do you want?"

Tatsu shrugged "Well for one, I'm here for Dosu not you. Second, Kakashi's looking for you. Thirdly, nice. 8/10."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jiraiya was doing his favorite pastime, peaking at girls in hot springs "Oh yes, that's it that's it. Oh baby I'm telling you, you've gotta love the Leaf Village. The girls here are off the charts!"

"You've still playing the buffoon I see." a voice said.

"Just doing a little research." Jiraiya turned around and saw a figure behind him wearing a mask, a forest green kimono and carrying a black katana at his side "Haven't seen you in awhile… Dragon." he held out his hand.

The figure, now known by the name Dragon, accepted the hand "It's been a long time Master Jiraiya. I trust he is doing well."

"He single-handedly defeated the one-tailed Shukaku in one-on-one combat about a month ago, and he's grown even stronger since."

"I see, that's good. I was saddened when I heard about the Third."

"Yeah, it's unfortunate."

"And the elders tried to make you the 5th Hokage?"

"Obviously, but of course I turned them down and convinced them to let him go track down Tsunade and bring her back. He's bringing two with him, but the problem is that this organization is about to make their move. I want you to tail them from the shadows and keep an eye out in case they show up."

"I understand."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi looked up from his book to see Kurenai and Asuma approaching him "Hey guys, you two seem to be getting along."

Kurenai blushed "Idiot, Anko just asked me to pick up some rice dumplings for her."

"Sure…"

"What're you doing here, aside from catching up on your reading?" asked Asuma.

"I need to buy something to put on a grave, plus I'm meeting somebody here. I'm just waiting on Sasuke." he noticed the cloaked figure's hand twitch inside the shop.

"Huh, it's not like you to be waiting on somebody. Is it for Obito?"

"Yeah, kind of."

That was when Sasuke showed up "It's not like you to show up early Kakashi, what gives?"

"Well sometimes I do."

"Yeah when hell freezes over." Sasuke looked inside the shop but saw nobody there "Let's eat somewhere else, I don't have much of a sweet tooth, at least when it comes to food."

"Yeah I know, Tatsu told me."

"...I will find him and punch him."

"Sure." Kakashi shot Kurenai and Asuma some looks, and received two nods, and they blitzed away.

"What was that about?"

"Oh nothing."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Asuma and Kurenai were quick to confront the two cloaked figures "You guys aren't from around here are you, what're you doing in this village?"

"It's been a long time Asuma, Kurenai." one of them greeted.

"The fact that you know our names means that you're a shinobi formerly of this village."

The figure slowly lifted up his hat, revealing his fully-matured Sharingan.

Asuma and Kurenai froze in shock "You're-"

The figure removed his hat.

"Well what do you know? Itachi. Itachi Uchiha."

"Are these friends of yours Itachi? Well then, I suppose I should introduce myself." the second figure removed his hat "Hope we can get acquainted later, the name's Kisame Hoshigaki."

"Why should we wait until later? When I can just wipe the floor with you both now."

"Boy Itachi, it looks like they hate you as much in this village as they do in mine."

"We know who you are Kisame, we've heard all about you." Kurenai told him "You hail from the Hidden Mist. Suspected of espionage and the murder of a feudal lord, you're a rogue ninja from the Land of Water wanted in every nation."

Asuma nodded "You're a high level S-ranked criminal, listed prominently in the Bingo Book. Itachi I've gotta hand it to you, the fact that you'd even show your face in this village after what you did takes some guts."

Itachi remained stoic "I'm warning you two, you don't want to interfere with me. It isn't my desire to kill you."

"You know that's pretty hilarious, coming from a guy who murdered his own people. Now come on, out with it. I know you didn't come skulking in here dressed like that for no good reason, what are you after?"

Kisame drew his large bandaged sword from his back "This guy is getting on my nerves, can I kill him?"

"Well I guess we're not going anywhere without a fight, just try not to overdo it. Your moves tend to stand out." Itachi warned.

"They're as good as dead." Kisame quickly swung his sword.

Asuma dodged the first stroke and blocked the second with his Chakra Blades.

Itachi quickly realized what Kurenai was up to 'I see. Genjutsu.'

Asuma found Kisame's physical strength and sword rather difficult 'He's bearing down with just the edge of his sword, his strength is unreal.'

'My massive blade shocks him.' Kisame quickly retracted the blade, cutting Asuma from his shoulder down to his elbow and shredding some of the bandages, revealing scales on it that looked like a shark's teeth "It doesn't slice, it cuts you to ribbons!"

"It's about time, Kurenai."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Using her genjutsu, Kurenai wrapped Itachi and Kisame in trees and appeared above Itachi from within one of the trees "Alright, let's end this!" then she suddenly found herself bound by a tree instead.

Itachi had reversed it with his Sharingan "Genjutsu of that level doesn't work on me."

'He used a genjutsu reflection?' she bit down on her lip to free herself and dodged Itachi's kunai, but wasn't able to block her kick and was sent into the river below.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Kurenai!" Asuma cried out.

"I wouldn't be looking over there if I were you." Kisame warned.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You live up to your reputation." Itachi appeared behind Kurenai "However…."

"However, this is the end of the line, for you anyway." a new voice cut in.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Asuma had managed to use his Chakra Blades to cut Kisame's cheek 'Got him.'

Kisame quickly formed a hand seal to activate a jutsu "Water Style-"

"Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!" an identical water shark countered his, the attacks cancelling each other out.

"He used the same jutsu I did!"

"Not that I'm unhappy to see you." Asuma commented "But what're you doing here?"

Kakashi shrugged "Well you know I asked you to take care of those two earlier, but I guess I got a little worried."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi looked behind him to see Kakashi's Shadow Clone "Kakashi. It's you."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"False alarm there huh?" Teuchi guessed.

Naruto slurped down some ramen "Yeah what happened there was I stuck it behind my headband because I was so freaked out it was gonna fall out of my pants or something while I was working out earlier this morning."

"Well it all worked out in the end, now go on and eat up so you can do your best. You've got more training ahead of you don't you?"

"You bet I do, I'm gonna work my butt off!"

"With that attitude, you'll master it in no time." a new voice cut in.

Naruto looked back to see Tatsu behind him "Tatsu."

"That's my name, don't wear it out. Hey Teuchi, how's Ayame doing?"

"She's just on a supply run." Teuchi told him.

"Okay, but I'm leaving a Shadow Clone behind just to be safe. I'm going on a mission and I'm not sure how long I'll be gone, so when the clone's gone Lee will be here to keep an eye on her."

"Kind of overprotective don't you think?"

"It's my job." then he looked down "Anyway pack your stuff Naruto, we're going on a mission."

Naruto was quick to slurp down the rest of his ramen.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi held a kunai to Itachi's neck "Okay talk, what's a rogue ninja like you doing in this village?"

Itachi looked back "Kakashi Hatake."

'Those eyes haven't changed, this one's a true heir of the Sharingan. That means I've gotta be ready for the worst.'

"Well well what a surprise, that's how you copied my jutsu." Kisame noted "So there really is someone besides Itachi with those crazy eyes. You're Kakashi aren't you, the copy ninja."

"You can imagine my surprise, I go to check out a couple of lowlife vagabonds in a tea house and I find none other than Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki, the scourge of the Hidden Mist Village."

"How about that, you know my name. I'm honored."

"I assume that bizarre excuse for a sword is one of the Seven Swords of the Mist, the one called Shark Skin?"

"I heard that you and Zabuza had it out awhile back."

"Yes we did, and Tatsu Kamikaze was the one to defeat him." he drew a kunai behind his back.

Kisame raised his sword "Go ahead, I'd love to cut you to ribbons."

"Kisame, stop it." Itachi ordered "If you take this man on then it won't be without cost. Furthermore, it will take time and the commotion is liable to bring more shinobi running. Your way is inefficient and unnecessarily risky. Don't lose sight of our goal."

"Let's hear it, what is your goal exactly?" the clone confronting Kisame vanished, leaving only the original Kakashi.

"We're looking for something, and we know it's here."

"And what would that be? What is this thing you're looking for?"

"My way is more efficient than Kisame's." he drew some shuriken from his robe.

"Ninja Art: Water Style: Water Wall!" Kakashi quickly leapt back and formed a Water Wall to counter Itachi's Water Fang Bomb, just barely succeeding 'The speed of his jutsu is incredible, I didn't even see a hand sign. The shuriken in his hand were just a ruse to distract me from his Water Style attack.'

"You're good, you almost anticipated my moves." another Itachi, one of them being a Shadow Clone, stabbed Kakashi in the back "Almost."

Kakashi dissolved into water, revealed to be a Water Clone.

Kurenai received a kunai from where Kakashi was hiding underwater "Nice job Kakashi."

"Get back Kurenai, that one's the Shadow Clone!" Kakashi suddenly emerged and pulled her away as the Shadow Clone exploded.

"Kakashi! Kurenai!" Asuma leapt towards them 'He just blew up his own Shadow Clone.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto didn't look amused "Oh come on, why do I have to get stuck with you and the Mummy-Man over there on some mission when I could be learning a new jutsu?"

Tatsu noticed the vein throbbing in Dosu's head "Dosu, ignore him. Naruto, stop whining. There's a certain woman we're looking for, a very remarkable woman."

"Well count me out, I don't have time to help you find a girlfriend when Ino's already right here!"

'...Not going there. I have a certain jutsu I plan to teach you on the way."

"And now you have my attention. I'll go pack my stuff!" and he rushed off.

"Sucker."

"Tatsu." said Dosu "Who exactly are we going to find?"

"Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin like Orochimaru. Jiraiya talked the elders into making her the Fifth Hokage, and she can heal Hayate-sensei. Apparently his illness got to him again and now he's in a coma."

"What sort of disease is it?"

"Honestly I don't know, it's been around since the era of the First Hokage but there's still no cure. Only Tsunade can fix it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi let out a grunt 'Okay, that hurt…'

"Are you alright?" then Kurenai saw Itachi behind him.

"Stay on your toes, this guy was made chief of ANBU Black Ops when he was only 13."

"Alright he's tough, we get it." Asuma noted.

"Tough? You haven't seen half of what he can do."

"For someone who is not of the Uchiha Clan, you've mastered the Sharingan well." Itachi noted, impressed "However, not being one of us, you lack our physical strength and that's something you can't copy."

'He's right, my body doesn't have the stamina.'

"Why is it that the Uchiha clan is known by all and killed by all? I'll show you what the Sharingan can do when it's wielded by a true heir of the bloodline." then Itachi activated the next level: his Mangekyo Sharingan.

'It can't be! Close your eyes, don't look at his eyes!"

Asuma and Kurenai did so.

"Listen both of you, whatever happens don't look, if you meet his gaze then you're finished. I'm gonna have to do this alone, my Sharingan against his."

"Indeed, your abilities are impressive." Itachi agreed "They might even be enough to resist the Mangekyo Sharingan. However, there is something they can't defend against- this special Sharingan jutsu called Tsukuyomi. Only someone with the Sharingan and Kekkei Genkai can defeat me."

'Sasuke.' then Kakashi was hit by Itachi's Tsukuyomi, and spent a full 72 hours being tortured by Itachi, making it feel like an eternity. He eventually found himself back in reality, and soon fell to his knees.

"Kakashi, what is it?" asked Kurenai "Can we open our eyes now?"

"No, not yet."

"What just happened?" asked Asuma "One second the guy's talking, and the next second you hit the ground."

'3 days in that world, and less than a moment passed in this one. Why not just kill me? If he wanted to then he could.'

Kisame appeared beside Itachi "After all that the fool's spirit is still intact. Meanwhile, you risked overusing those eyes of yours. You know that's dangerous."

"This thing you've come for… is it Sasuke?"

"No, the legacy of the Fourth Hokage." Itachi told him.

'Naruto.' Kakashi thought back to how Jiraiya told him about Orochimaru joining an organization of rogue ninja called the Akatsuki that might be after the Kyuubi "The Kyuubi's spirit inside Naruto, that's what you're after? You're not the only ones are you? There are 7 more of you out there searching, hunting. I know all about you, you call yourselves the Akatsuki right?"

"...Kisame, we'll take Kakashi with us but we don't the others. Get rid of them.

"Right." Kisame charged and prepared to cut them down, when…

"Dynamite Kick!" a green blur kicked Kisame in the face, sending him crashing backwards.

"Guy?" Kakashi guessed.

"Sorry, but no."

"Wait, Lee?!"

"I was training nearby and sensed the commotion so I rushed to help and waited for an opening to strike."

"Who do we have here?" Kisame wondered.

"The Hidden Leaf's Green Beast, Rock Lee. Student of the Leaf's Blue Beast, Might Guy."

"Might Guy huh? Might stupid-looking Guy is more like it."

"Don't underestimate him." Itachi warned.

Lee got into a taijutsu stance 'So this is him, Itachi Uchiha.' he saw Kakashi collapse and quickly slung him over his shoulder "I can't imagine what they must have put him through."

"Lee, get out of here!" Asuma barked "Close your eyes, don't look at Itachi. You'll get caught in this jutsu."

"Calm down Asuma-sensei, I know what I'm doing. After spending so much time training to fight Tatsu I know how to counter a Dojutsu user. Both of you, open your eyes now."

"But if we-"

"Don't worry, just look into his eyes. That's the key to fighting a user of a Visual Jutsu, and this especially applies to Sharingan users. Focus on his feet, that way you can read what his next move will be."

"Alright, but that trick sounds a lot easier said than done." Kurenai pointed out "And unlike you Lee, we haven't had Guy's training."

"I know, I haven't fully-mastered this either, but it's all we have to go on. It takes skill to anticipate an opponent's moves just from watching his feet, but I don't have time to teach you now. You'll just have to do your best."

"So what do we do?" asked Asuma.

"Kurenai-sensei, please take Kakashi-sensei to the Medical Corps. Asuma-sensei, back me up until Guy-sensei gets here."

"Got it."

"Alright, I sent word for ANBU but until they get here we hold them off."

"Interesting, I'll give you credit for guts." Kisame noted "Pretty impressive for a kid."

"No Kisame, we're pulling out." Itachi told him "We're not here to fight a full scale battle, tempting as it may be it's not the way to do this. Let's go."

"That's too bad, it was just getting fun. They don't know how lucky they are." and then they pulled out.

Lee frowned "They left."

"Lee!" that was when Guy showed up "Where's the enemy?"

"Gone."

"Sorry, I was a little sidetracked with-"

"Save the excuses, that's Kakashi-sensei's thing. For now, we have to get Kakashi-sensei to the Medical Corp."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, I'm ready!" Naruto wasn't ready, mainly because he'd basically packed his entire apartment in his backpack "Let's move out!"

Tatsu sweatdropped "I think you might've overdone it a little, you do know we're not going on a trip around the world right?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After spending a half hour unloading, they were on the road.

Naruto was acting more hyper than ever "Well come on Tatsu, I'm on pins and needles! What's this new jutsu you're gonna teach me? The last time around was the Crimson Wind jutsu, so is it that Purple Thunder jutsu like Sasuke uses? Come on Tatsu, let's hear it already!"

Tatsu could feel the vein in his forehead throbbing, but suppressed it "Well first of all, I can't teach you Purple Thunder because Sasuke has a lightning nature and you don't. You have a wind nature, which is why I gave you the Crimson Wind jutsu instead. Second, this jutsu doesn't have an official nature. Thirdly, Jiraiya himself told me to teach you this jutsu."

"You mean the Pervy Sage?"

"His name is Jiraiya and he's one of the Legendary Sannin and sage, and one of the strongest ninja in the world at the moment. That, and he was the teacher of the Fourth Hokage."

"Really?"

"Yeah, and you look so much like the Fourth Hokage it's almost laughable, which is probably why he chose to take you on as his disciple."

"...Holy crap, that's awesome! If I'm like the Fourth Hokage then that means I possess the same level of genius he did, I'm on my way to Hokage and laughing!"

Tatsu and Dosu shared a look 'This is gonna be a looong trip.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kin was bringing a bag of dumplings over to Naruto's apartment "Alright, I think this is the right address. Naruto's been so kind about me being part of the Leaf now, it's only right I give him some of these to thank him, and Tatsu too.' she managed a small smile 'One bag for each of them, one for Dosu and Zaku to share, and the last of them for Sasuke.' her cheeks instantly turned red 'I wonder if he's got a sweet tooth…'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke finished another training session 'I wasn't able to do anything against Gaara, I was too weak and lacked the proper motivation.' his thoughts drifted to Kin 'But now I have something to fight for, someone to protect. I will never let my friends fall before my eyes, that's my nindo, my ninja way. Naruto, is that what you discovered after the battle in the Land of Waves?'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Itachi and Kisame were watching over Naruto's group, but saw a figure shadowing them.

"I'm pretty certain you could go toe-to-toe with him, though I'm not sure I could. He's on a whole other level." Kisame admitted.

"Yeah, if we faced each other then both of us would be killed." Itachi noted "A rather unappealing outcome. Even if there were more of us, the result would remain the same."

"Never thought I'd have to go up against the Forest Dragon, if we fight him then both the Uchiha clan and the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist will have their names dragged through the mud."

"True. But still, even strongest of opponents always has a weakness."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi was out cold.

Lee and the other jonin watched over him "They're trouble aren't they?"

"They are." Guy confirmed "But from the look of things it doesn't appear they've found Naruto yet."

"That's what's crazy." Asuma pointed out "It doesn't add up. I mean they'd already infiltrated the village, it should be easy for them to find Naruto around here."

"Wait, you didn't know?" asked Lee.

"Didn't know what?"

"Naruto left the village a few hours ago."

"What?"

"On a mission with Tatsu and that mummy guy Dosu."

Guy blinked "Well, fu-"

That was when Sasuke came in "Kakashi- Wait, why is Kakashi asleep and why is this room full of jonin? And why the hell is Lee here? What the hell is going on here?"

"Not much really."

"Don't-"

That was when Aoba showed up "Hey, is it true that Itachi has returned? And that he's come here to get Naruto."

"...What?" Sasuke stared for a moment, then his eyes shot wide and he ran out of the room at full speed.

"You idiot! Sasuke, wait!" then Lee rushed out, taking off his weights

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke blitzed across the village 'Itachi's come back to the village, huh? And he's after Naruto? Why?' he soon made his way to Naruto's apartment "Naruto!"

But Kin came out instead "Sasuke, what're you-"

"Where's Naruto?"

"I don't know, I just got here myself."

Sasuke just took off running 'If Naruto gets caught then he's as good as dead, there's no way I'll let that happen.'

"Sasuke, wait!"

Sasuke turned to see Lee run up beside him "What?"

"Naruto left with Tatsu and Dosu a few hours ago, something about that outpost town a ways out from the village."

"Right." they sped out of the village 'I lost everyone I cared about to Itachi once, I won't let it happen again.'

"Sasuke, whatever happens, don't get careless or crazy."

Sasuke said nothing.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto looked around "This town is pretty weird."

Tatsu led Naruto and Dosu to an inn "Alright guys, we're crashing here tonight."

"What? Why? I can still walk."

"We're taking this one step at a time, you guys go settled into the room while I go dig up some information."

"Excuse me." said a voice.

Tatsu looked to see a beautiful woman in her 20's approach him "Can I help you?"

"No, but I can help you. I know who you're looking for, and I think I can be of some help."

"So you know who I'm looking for and where to find her?"

"That's right."

Tatsu looked back to Naruto and Dosu "You guys go get settled while I check this out, and Dosu's in charge." and he left.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sasuke led Lee through the forest "Where's that outpost town?"

"It shouldn't be too far off."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto frowned "Pervy Sage or not, I always end up getting shafted."

"It's not like it's a prostitute." Dosu pointed out "He's just gathering information. It's not like he's trying to get laid." his bandages turned read.

"Dosu, your bandages are turning red."

"Well-" thankfully, he was cut off by a knock on the door.

"Oh come on, don't tell me she dumped you already?" no response "Weird, that would've gotten a fire dragon through the door." Naruto went to answer it.

'This inn doesn't have room service, and it can't be house-keeping. I have a bad feeling about this. Naruto, don't!"

Too late. Naruto opened it and found Itachi standing there 'Oh f*ck.'

'Oh f*ck.'

'...Sasuke? No, then who is he? The same Sharingan as Sasuke's.'

"Hard to believe that such a child carries the Kyuubi." Kisame commented.

'How does this guy know about Kurama?'

"Naruto, you're coming with us." Itachi told him "Why don't we take a walk."

'These guys look like the real deal.' motioning for Dosu to follow him, Naruto slowly went out into the hallway.

"Hey Itachi." said Kisame "It'll be a pain in the neck if this kid makes a run for it. Maybe I oughta chop off a leg, just in case."

'Say what?'

"Right." Kisame slowly advanced.

Then Itachi's voice stopped him "It's been a long time… Sasuke."

Sure enough, Sasuke stood at the other end of the hall, with Lee behind him "Itachi… Uchiha…"

Naruto froze 'That guy looks exactly like Sasuke.'

"Well, the Sharingan." Kisame noticed "And he looks an awful lot like you. Itachi, who is this kid?"

"He's my younger brother." Itachi told him.

"That's strange, because the way I heard it the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out by you."

Sasuke drew the tanto Tatsu gave him "Itachi Uchiha, for as long as I can remember I've been living and breathing every day for one single purpose: to kill you."

Naruto froze and recalled how he wanted to kill a certain man 'This is who Sasuke was talking about, the one he wanted to kill.'

"My hatred for you hasn't diminished, and I resolved myself to kill you long ago."

Itachi studied Sasuke for a moment 'His eyes show anger, but not hatred. This isn't what I expected.'

"But you were wrong when you told me to let my hatred build. You took our parents, everyone I loved, and I hate you for that. But now I've found friends, people who understand my loneliness, and people I've sworn to protect. I will never let my best friends die. That's my nindo, my ninja way. And for the sake of my friends, for those I've sworn to protect, here and now I'll do whatever it takes to defeat you!" and he charged.

Itachi sidestepped Sasuke's attack with ease "Sorry, but you don't interest me at the moment."

"Well get interested! Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" Sasuke fired a Purple Thunder blast.

Itachi stopped the attack with one hand.

Naruto stared in horror 'I… I don't believe it, he brushed off Sasuke's attack like it was nothing. Even with the both of us and Dosu and Bushy-Brow teaming up, there's no way we'd defeat them. I've gotta do something!' he tried building up Kurama's chakra.

"The air is ripe with chakra." Kisame noted "This must be it, the power of the Kyuubi."

Naruto bit down on his thumb "Ninja Art: Summoning-"

"Too slow." Kisame brought down Shark Skin.

'I can't feel my chakra. Dammit! What the hell is going on?'

"Sorry kid, my blade Sharkskin cuts through chakra and devours it. We don't need the hassle of this kid whipping out any more jutsu. Forget the legs, maybe I oughta start off with those arms of his."

'Dammit, why isn't it coming?'

Kisame brought down his sword, only for a cloud of smoke to appear in front of Naruto and for Shark Skin to hit something with a loud metallic clang "What the-?"

When the smoke cleared, Dragon had stopped Kisame's sword with his katana "You both really should have done more research."

"That's right." Tatsu came out with the woman from before, Emi, unconscious and slung over his shoulder "I'm not some man whore that can be seduced so easily. I'm not Jiraiya or Kakashi. Or Naruto."

"Or the one with the nosebleed-covered bandages across his face."

"...Really Dosu? You know what, that's for later."

"Agreed. It's been some time Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki."

Kisame smirked "Now matter where you go Forest Dragon, you'll always be a nuisance to us. It's almost impossible to believe you have been sabotaging our plans all this time."

"Believe whatever you wish, but I won't rest until the ambitions of the Akatsuki are crushed."

"So you somehow managed to release the genjutsu we cast on her?"

"That'd be me." Tatsu gently placed Emi's unconscious form by the wall "It takes a special kind of coward to pull something like that. Using his visual jutsu to control an innocent woman in order to separate me from Naruto and Dosu."

Dragon nodded "I know for a fact that this boy is the one you're truly after."

"That explains how Kakashi knew." Itachi noted "Now I understand, both you and him learned it from Master Jiraiya. You're right, Naruto is the prize that the Akatsuki are after and we will have him."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you Itachi, but I won't allow you to harm this boy or any of the others."

"We'll see about that."

"This is actually very convenient, I can eliminate both of you here and now." he formed several hand seals, and the entire room suddenly turned into flesh "Ninja Art: Dragon Stomach Imprisonment. Very convenient."

Kisame found his foot and sword being swallowed "What the-?"

"You've both been devoured by the great dragon my friends, welcome to the belly of the beast and he has a very strong and sensitive digestive track so do be careful not to upset him." then he looked over to Tatsu, Naruto, Dosu, Sasuke and Lee "All of you stay calm and stay still, that way you won't be affected."

"Kisame, come." Itachi told him.

Kisame found his sword being swallowed "Easier said than done." he quickly pulled his sword free and took off running, only to see something behind him as he ran "Don't look now but there's a wall of flesh coming after us." he quickly cut some of them down and took off running again "It's too fast, we won't make it. It's no use."

Itachi was quick to activate his Mangekyo Sharingan "Amaterasu." he burned through the flesh and the wall, and they got away.

"So we just run away again? We do a lot of that."

"There's no rush for now, we'll get Naruto when the time is right. Besides, I felt it wise for us to find some place to rest for awhile and recharge my powers. On top of Tsukuyomi, to have to use Amaterasu as well, it was more exhausting than I thought.' both his Mangekyo and regular Sharingan faded.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dragon stared at the hole 'He used the black flames of Amaterasu to break through the flesh, I should've expected as much.'

Naruto stared at the black flames "What is this stuff anyway, some kind of black fire?"

"Stay away from it!" Dragon pulled out a scroll and wrote down a sealing formula "There. Sealing Jutsu: Fire Seal, now." he formed the hand seals and slammed his hand on the ground, and the flames disappeared "They're taken care of for the time being at least." he stomped his foot, and the flesh disappeared "Now then Tatsu, I feel you should continue on your mission. I will accompany two of your friends back to the Leaf."

Tatsu nodded "Thanks, we've gotta find her before it's too late."

"I know about the sickness your sensei has, he has 1 month at the most."

"Tatsu." Naruto sounded deadly serious and growlish "Tatsu, it's time for a new game plan right now. I admit I let those goons scare me a little, but that's over. No more running. After all, it's me they're after right? Well okay then, it's time I give them what they want."

"Your resolve is commendable, but at your current level you're no match for either one of them. If I hadn't shown up, you would have been captured for sure."

"Is that right? So what're you suggesting, that we just do nothing?! Sit here waiting for them to hit us again? What kind of strategy is that?!

"Enough! You haven't earned that right. Besides, your sensei was defeated by Itachi so easily. You would most likely be dead right now without me."

"What? Kakashi-sensei?"

"There's nothing worse than seeing those you care about fall in battle, it's like small pieces of your soul are lost with them. What you need is a supreme medical specialist, a master of healing, and soon. Fortunately, that's who you've been sent to find if I'm not mistaken."

Naruto blinked "Tatsu never did mention who we're looking for."

"She's one of the three legendary Sannin, the Slug Queen, the Gambling Fool, the Mistress of Healing, the Legendary Sucker, Lady Tsunade." he turned to Sasuke and Lee "I'll escort the two of you back to your village, while the rest of you continue on your way. Remember, the village is counting on you three." and with that, he grabbed Sasuke and Lee and disappeared before they could protest.

Tatsu turned to Naruto and Dosu "Alright you two, let's move out."

A/N:

Dosu tagging along for finding Tsunade was inspired by a fanfiction I read called Three Pawns. Discontinued but really good, do check it out.

Sasuke didn't go into a coma because that was only there to fuel his lust for power, which is for an entirely different reason here.

I thought it was more fitting to give Guy's rival with Kisame to Lee instead to give him some more character development.

Dynamite Kick is Lee's version of Dynamic Entry.

Dragon's name is because of the ANBU mask he wears, but his identity is a surprise for later.

Kin is basically Sasuke's version of Hinata, minus being a stalker.