A/N - Alrighty, I wanted to update this fic because it's been quite some time since I last updated it. I've been dealing with a lot of crap and I just couldn't get around to writing anything for a good while.

Anyways, I am dead tired right now. I kept getting distracted while trying to write this chapter. The reason? I've got ADHD and it can be REALLY hard to concentrate on things sometimes. I also stayed up all night and this late into the morning just trying to finish this dang chapter. So, because I'm freaking exhausted, I'm not going to say anything more. Hopefully you enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 4 - Meet the Parents

"Of fucking course they wouldn't have waited for us!" Anko exclaimed angrily as she looked at the deceased Demon Brothers. Walking over to them, she removed their heads so they could at least collect the bounty on them upon their return to Konoha.

Turning back to face her team, she said, "Come on, we need to get a move on. Those idiots are going to get themselves killed if we don't catch up to them." Everyone nodded in agreement with this before they all began rushing off to try and catch up to Team 7.

As they ran, Sarada couldn't help but scowl to herself. "They really are as arrogant as I feared, aren't they Anko-sensei?"

Anko looked at Sarada and said, "I'm afraid so, Sarada-chan. Kakashi's full of himself and chooses to wallow in his own misery rather than focus on improving his skills. He's used that Sharingan of his to copy an insane number of jutsus, but he hasn't perfected them. He copies them and uses them without really trying. Basically, it's a crutch for him to lean on rather than a truly helpful tool."

"Then there's Sakura, a.k.a. Pinky. She's a diehard Sasuke fangirl. Knowing her, she hasn't focused on training at all and believes that Sasuke will be her knight in shining armor. She's probably using her spare time and the time on this mission to try and get into his pants." Sighing, Anko shook her head in disappointment. "She's a disgrace to kunoichi everywhere. And despite her fantasies, Sasuke would never try to save her. He's a real asshole."

"I don't know jack about Sai, but it's pretty obvious he's an agent working for Danzo Shimura. And finally we come to Sasuke Uchiha. He's arrogant, has a superiority complex, truly believing himself to be an 'elite' and therefore is above everyone else. Most likely, he thinks he's better than even Hokage-sama. Hasn't even awakened his Sharingan yet and he's that full of himself. Despite Hokage-sama pandering to him and the council, giving Sasuke everything he wants, it's obvious that Sasuke will one day desert the village in search of the power he craves. I truly believe that there's more to the Uchiha clan massacre than we've been told. Itachi was a good kid and I highly doubt that he'd snap and kill his entire family without a reason."

Sarada nodded in understanding, but Naruto beat her to the punch when he said, "My guess? I'd say the Uchiha's were planning something BAD. Bad enough that Itachi was given no choice but to act. Knowing the Hokage, though, he'd have tried to go for the peaceful route, but something tells me things went horribly wrong. I bet someone was pulling the strings, purposely trying to make things worse for some kind of goal of theirs. I could be wrong, but I seriously think Itachi was given no choice but to wipe out his clan."

Anko blinked a couple of times as she stared at her blonde-haired genin. "Huh, you might just be right about that. Surprised I didn't think of that. Ah well, it's not really any of our business now, is it? Looks like we're coming up on the sea. Hopefully we can get a boat to ferry us across, buuut if not...well, I hope you all are comfortable enough with water walking to get to our destination."

Naruto, Hinata, and Himawari each looked slightly nervous at that idea, as they weren't sure they had enough of a grasp on it yet to make it all the way to the Land of Waves. Anko, Sarada, and Chocho each had enough experience with water walking that they could likely make it across easily enough. Lucky them. Naruto thought to himself as he tried to calm himself down. If they needed to walk on water, he didn't want to screw up and look like an incapable idiot.

Thankfully, they came across a ferryman that, while hesitant to do so, he agreed to ferry the team to their destination. Upon reaching the other side, they paid the man before leaping into the trees. "Himawari-chan, Hinata-chan, I need you two to activate your Byakugan and guide us to the members of Team 7. Chances are they've been ambushed and need some backup."

The two young women did as instructed before they began leaping ahead, their eyes scanning the area for whomever might be around. It took some time, but they eventually came across the scene of a battle taking place on the path down below. Remaining silent as possible, Himawari blinked a couple of times as she spotted someone else watching from a tree on the opposite side of them. "Anko-sensei, there's someone over there watching the fight. What do you think we should do?"

Anko frowned in thought for a time before noticing the fight down below taking a nasty turn for the worse. "Shit. Kakashi would go and get himself captured, wouldn't he? Damnit. Alright, here's the plan: Himawari-chan, Hinata-chan, I want you to go and disable our little 'observer'. You have the element of surprise on your side and should be able to capture whoever it is that's over there. Sarada-chan, Naruto-kun, you're with me. We're going to free Kakashi from that little prison he's been trapped in. Chocho, I want you to get the bridge builder to safety. Does everyone understand their orders?"

"Yes, Anko-sensei. Let's do this." they responded with determination. Soon afterwards, they split up to do their appointed tasks.

Chocho appeared beside Tazuna and gently took his hand. "Follow me. We're getting you to safety, Sir." she said before tugging him along, much to his confusion. Once they were away from the battle, she smiled up at Tazuna and bowed slightly to him. "We're here to offer you our support. You'll be safe with us by your side."

Tazuna blinked a couple of times in confusion, but he eventually just shrugged and said, "Thanks. I suppose we'll have to wait for a proper introduction until the rest of your team gets here?"

Chocho nodded before taking a breath and turning to face the direction in which they had come from. "I'll keep you safe, just in case anyone comes after us here."

Meanwhile, Himawari and Hinata slipped around behind their mystery person and nodded to each other before they slipped silently closer to their target. Before he/she could react to them, they each struck a number of points on the person's body, rendering him/her unable to do anything more than fall to the ground below, paralyzed for the time being. High-fiving each other, the two girls dropped to the ground and slapped a chakra suppression seal on the person and bound their wrists together with ninja wire, as well as their ankles.

Taking a closer look at the person, they saw that it was a female with a rather ample bosom. If they had to fathom a guess, they'd say she was a high C or low D-cup. Ignoring that for the time being, Hinata knelt down beside her and said, "Is it safe to assume that you're that man's partner?"

The woman scowled behind her mask, but refused to answer them. Seeing as they weren't getting a response, Himawari reached for the mask, removing it slowly. Looking into the woman's angry eyes, Himawari offered her a small smile and said, "We do have...ways of making you talk, you know?"

Hinata giggled and said, "You are way too frisky sometimes, Himawari-chan." Looking into the woman's eyes, she nodded appreciatively. "You look like you're only a few years older than us. You're quite pretty."

Haku blinked as she realized what they were planning. "Don't touch me!" Seeing their hands moving towards her chest, Haku shut her eyes tight and said, "Yes! I'm with Zabuza-sama! Just...d-don't touch me like that! I've...I've...I can't go through that again. Please, don't…"

Hinata pieced together what the young woman was saying and her eyes widened in horror. "Kami. I'm sorry. I don't know what you've been through, but I promise we won't hurt you. Listen, do you think you can convince Zabuza to leave the bridge builder alone? We don't want to kill anyone if we don't have to. The only person we're really after is Gato. He sounds like a real scumbag."

Haku frowned and shook her head. "We've accepted a contract to kill the bridge builder and anyone that stands against him. We...we need the money."

Himawari sighed and flicked Haku's nose. "Do you really think a man like Gato will pay you what he's promised? Trust me, a guy like that will betray you as soon as the opportunity presents itself. He'll likely try to have you and your master killed after you've successfully dealt with anyone sent to protect Tazuna. Think about it."

Haku frowned and, despite wanting to protest and say she was wrong, she realized that Gato was likely to screw the two of them over. With a heavy sigh, she looked at her bound wrists and ankles and said, "If you two will let me go, I can try to convince Zabuza-sama to leave the bridge builder alone. We'll leave and never bother you again."

Himawari frowned at this before looking at Naruto as he, Anko, and Sarada fought with Zabuza after freeing Kakashi. "Actually, why not come back with us to Konoha? You'd be welcome there, no problem. Besides that, you could move in with us and enjoy a nice, peaceful life if you wanted to. Besides that, I think you'd probably get along well with Naruto-kun."

Yes, Himawari remembered her father talking to her a few times about Haku. She wanted to ensure that at least Haku lived to be a positive influence on her future hubby. So, looking into Haku's eyes, the blue-haired Uzumaki smiled kindly at her. "I'll explain it all to you later. Please, just tell me you'll be a friend to us. I want you to live a good life, away from all the stress you probably have to deal with on a daily basis. Whether you believe me or not, you were a positive influence on my father. Don't ask what I mean yet. I want you and your master to decide if you'll come with us to Konoha. So take some time to think it over with him." With that, Himawari cut the ninja wire and allowed the woman to rush out to speak to her master.

As Anko prepared to use one of her more powerful techniques to take down Zabuza, she and the others were surprised when a young woman rushed out from the trees shouting at everyone to 'Stop!'

"Zabuza-sama, please stop! I know you accepted the mission to kill the bridge builder, but something's really wrong with that. Please trust me. Let's leave them alone. Let's return to our hideout and talk about this. You should know as well as I do that Gato won't pay us. Please, let's just leave." Haku pleaded.

Zabuza frowned as he looked at his apprentice. "Haku, are you sure about this? You know we need the money."

Haku shook her head and said, "I know we do. But there's an alternative that I was instructed to talk to you about. Please, just trust me on this."

The swordsman would have said something in response to this, but he caught sight of a number of shuriken flying towards Haku's exposed back. Quickly grabbing Haku, Zabuza held her close as he used his blade to block the shuriken. Once they were safe, he glared at the one that threw them: Sasuke Uchiha. "We were talking, runt. Try that again and I'll remove those precious eyes of yours."

Sasuke snarled and was about to attack again, but Anko whacked him upside the head. Seeing this, Zabuza smiled at her and said, "Very nice. Anyways, tell that bridge builder that he's safe for the time being. For now, you have nothing to fear from us."

Before Zabuza and Haku could leave, Sasuke began charging towards them. "I don't care! You're a worthy foe! I'll easily awaken my Sharingan if I kill you!"

Sarada, having enough of her future father's stupidity, appeared in front of him with her fist buried in his gut. "That's enough of that Sasuke. Let them go."

After being hit as hard as he was, spittle flew from his mouth, though thankfully none of it hit Sarada. Stumbling back a few feet, he fell to his knees and vomited his lunch onto the ground. Once he was finished, he glared into Sarada's eyes and said, "How dare you?! Why did you get in my way?!"

Sarada glanced over her shoulder to see that Zabuza and his accomplice had vanished. Good. Those two had a positive effect on Naruto-kun in the past. I'd rather not see them die. Turning back to Sasuke, the beautiful Uchiha glared at him and said, "There's no need to kill somebody that no longer wants to fight you. Showing mercy is sometimes the wisest course of action. There are times when it's smarter to kill your enemy so they cannot come back to harm you. You need to learn the difference between them. I know you want to awaken your Sharingan as soon as possible, but I don't understand why. You have the potential to be a great shinobi even without your Sharingan. You just need to train your ass off and work for that power you desire. Yes, it may take a while to get as strong as you want to be, but that's why you should work hard to better yourself. The Sharingan are just a tool. Sure, they may be useful, but there's no need to rely solely on them to become a great shinobi."

Sasuke glared at her and said, "What would you know you low-class whore?! The Sharingan are what makes the Uchiha clan great! It's what puts us above low-class pliebeans like you!"

Sighing to herself, Sarada could only shake her head in disappointment. "Tell me Sasuke, did Itachi need the Sharingan to be great? He's powerful, even without using the Sharingan. Relying solely upon your special eyes works as a crutch. You end up relying too much on them and it only weakens you in the long run. Like I said, they're just a tool. A helpful one, true, but you can't rely solely on your Sharingan. Hell, you haven't even awakened them yet! It's okay if you never do. Just think about it!"

Naruto placed a gentle hand upon her shoulder and shook his head at her. "Don't bother. Sasuke's an arrogant prick. There's no way he'll listen to reason like that. All you're doing is wasting your breath. I'm sorry to say that, because I know you'd like to see the best in him, but…" Sighing, he chanced a glance at Sasuke to see him approaching them with a kunai in his hand. "There's absolutely no way to get through to him. And it looks like Kakashi has no intention of stopping him. Give me a sec."

Sarada watched as Naruto walked towards Sasuke, calm as can be. When Sasuke went to attack him, Naruto weaved around his attacks until he was at Sasuke's side. Disarming Sasuke, he took hold of the kunai his 'rival' threatened them with and proceeded to stab Sasuke in the shoulder with it, rendering his arm useless for the time being before slugging him in the face hard enough to knock him out.

Once the teenage Uchiha hit the ground, Naruto kneeled down and ripped the kunai out before cleaning it off and slipping it away into his kunai pouch. "That should hopefully keep him from trying something else." Looking at Kakashi at this point, Naruto said, "Kakashi, you should really try to teach Sasuke some humility. He also needs to learn certain life lessons from you that he should have learned a long time ago. I don't even pretend to know how you teach your genin, but I know that you need to focus on curbing Sasuke's ego and teach him to value what he has. Value his comrades. Right now, he's a danger to his allies."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at Naruto, but before he could say anything, Anko spoke up. "Don't bother, Kakashi. I'm willing to bet you've taken a hands off approach with your team. Maybe not completely, but it's easy enough to see right now that Sakura is still fangirling over the runt. You haven't even TRIED to beat the fangirl out of her, have you?"

Kakashi simply shrugged and eye-smiled at her. "I figured we'd work on some teamwork exercises first until they were ready for a proper mission. And Sakura should eventually get over her fangirlism with time. Why bother punishing her when she really hasn't done anything wrong? Besides, Sasuke shows the most promise, so he needs the most guidance. Simple, no?"

Naruto scoffed at this, but remained quiet. Anko scowled and said, "And this is why you fail as a sensei. When we return to Konoha, I'll be informing Hokage-sama all about your blase attitude towards teaching your genin. Now, enough of the crap. We need to get moving."

Kakashi shot a look towards Naruto, disliking the fact that he was questioning his teaching methods. Then he glared at Anko for her attitude. However, rather than say anything more, he began to lead them down the path Chocho and Tazuna had fled in. I'll be sure to mention this to the Hokage. We'll see who punishes whom.

Tazuna's House

Upon reaching Tazuna's home, they saw Chocho standing guard outside. "How's Tazuna-san? He alright?" Anko questioned her.

"Yes, Anko-sensei. Tazuna and his family are safe. I've been standing guard, waiting for you guys. Is it safe to assume Zabuza has been dealt with?"

"Of course they haven't been dealt with! This stupid bitch kept me from killing him!" Sasuke snarled out as he glared at Sarada.

Naruto gripped Sasuke's shoulder hard and said, "Remember Sasuke, she's my friend. Calling her a bitch will only serve to piss me off. You don't want me to kick your ass now, do you?"

"Tch. Like you could, dobe." Sasuke said. "You just got lucky."

Naruto, tired of Sasuke's arrogance, proceeded to squeeze Sasuke's wound, causing him to fall to his knees screaming in agony. "This wound? This isn't me 'getting lucky'. This is proof that I'm better than you, a so-called 'elite'. Do try to remember that for next time you decide to mouth off, will you?"

Kakashi gripped Naruto's shoulder tight and said, "If you know what's good for you, you'll let him go right now, Naruto."

Anko gripped Kakashi's wrist hard and yanked it away from her student. "I'll handle Naruto's punishment. You should focus on disciplining your student for his actions too."

Kakashi narrowed his eye at her and said, "If there was anything to punish him for, I would. But I don't see a problem with his actions on this mission thus far."

Naruto scoffed as he released Sasuke. "Yeah, right. Whatever you say." he said before glaring down at Sasuke. "I'll leave him alone, but you'd best make sure he leaves me alone in turn. If he comes after me for whatever reason, I will defend myself." Looking into Kakashi's eye, he said, "I refuse to let myself be the village's punching bag any longer. I'm going to start fighting back, whether people like you like it or not."

"If you hurt innocent villagers for some kind of vendetta, you will be punished for it, Naruto." Kakashi stressed, clearly not liking the blonde's attitude.

"Self-defense isn't a crime, Kakashi." Naruto said as he entered the house with his team following behind him.

This isn't good. He's going to hurt somebody in the village soon enough, and I don't know if the Hokage will punish him for it or not. Kakashi thought with a deep frown hidden behind his facemask. Looking down at Sasuke, the silver-haired jonin knelt down and looked him in the eyes. "Don't worry Sasuke-kun, I'll help you however I can. The Hokage will know about what's happened here and he'll have no choice but to punish Naruto for his actions against you. And if he doesn't, then I'll simply train you to the point you can easily crush him should you ever need to."

Sasuke grinned at Kakashi and nodded his head in acceptance of that promise. "Good. I want to make him kneel before me and worship me as his better."

Kakashi simply gave him an eye-smile before helping Sasuke to his feet. "Let's get that wound of yours treated. I'm afraid that until you've healed up, you can't partake in any of the fighting that's likely to happen."

Sasuke scowled at this and glared towards the house. "That dobe will pay for this humiliation."

What neither of them knew is that Himawari and Sarada were listening in on their conversation. Looking into one another's eyes, they nodded as one and went off to inform their teammates about what they had just heard.

Getting Anko's attention, Himawari said, "Anko-sensei, we need to talk." Looking at Tsunami and Tazuna, she said, "Sorry Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san, but is there a room we could use to speak in private?"

Tsunami nodded and led them to a room in her house that they could use. "Here, please use this room. I know it's not much, but it should give you the privacy you need."

"Thank you ma'am." Anko said politely. "We shouldn't be too long, so try to relax a little, okay?"

"Of course. I'll inform the others that you aren't to be bothered." Tsunami said before descending the stairs, leaving them alone.

Once alone, Team 11 stepped into the room, locked the door, and put up silencing seals to keep Team 7 from eavesdropping on them. Looking at her genin, Anko asked, "Okay, what's going on? You obviously have something important to tell us."

Himawari scowled and clenched her fists tight. "That bastard Kakashi just promised Sasuke that he'd help him get strong enough to beat Naruto like he apparently 'deserves'."

Sarada continued where Himawari left off. "He also promised to inform the Hokage about this turn of events. He's going to try and convince Hokage-sama to punish Naruto-kun for hurting Sasuke. It's pretty obvious he'll exaggerate everything and tell half-lies to convince the Hokage that Naruto-kun's in the wrong here."

Naruto scowled at this before looking at Anko. "Then we need to strike before he does. Anko-sensei, do you think you can write a letter to Hokage-sama and inform him of the situation here and what's happened so far? I may not like him, but if we can get him on our side in this situation, it'll make things easier on us."

Anko smirked at him and said, "Good thinking, Naruto-kun. I'll get right on that and have one of my snakes deliver it. It'll be nice to see the look on that asshole's face when he realizes Hokage-sama isn't on his side."

While Anko got to work on the letter, Himawari looked to her future mother, who nodded at her as a sign to go ahead. So, looking around at the others, Himawari decided to explain. "Guys, there's something else you should know. That girl that protected Zabuza? Her name is Haku. My dad told me about her before and how deep an impact she had on his life. We offered her a chance to return with us to Konoha with Zabuza. I don't want them to die this time. I want them to be a positive influence on Naru-kun's life."

Hinata frowned at this point and said, "But...she said some things that concerned me. When we went to touch her, she panicked. She was truly frightened by something, but I don't think it was us she was afraid of. I...I think someone may have done something terrible to her before."

Anko frowned as she looked at the two of them. "You think she's been raped...don't you?"

The two Hyuga women nodded. "Yes. Either that, or she's been molested and perhaps whoever did it tried to force himself on her. I'm not sure. All I know is that she's terrified of being touched in that way." Himawari explained.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Anko closed her eyes and said, "People have tried to do the same to me, thinking I'd be an easy lay. Nobody has ever succeeded, thank Kami. If this Haku girl really has been raped…"

Himawari frowned at this and said, "It makes me wonder if this is an alternate reality that I've ended up in rather than just the past. Daddy never mentioned Haku having this particular problem. She seemed calm and collected. He said she was pretty normal, as far as he was concerned. And, if I remember correctly, he said Haku was a guy, not a pretty girl."

Sarada frowned in thought before saying, "Naruto-kun, Future Naruto, I mean, did say that Himawari had created an alternate timeline. I think he was slightly wrong. Himawari entered an alternate timeline by accident. She may have meant to return to the past to be with her father, but…"

Anko sighed and nodded her head in understanding. "So, you're all from an alternate future, different from what awaits us here in this timeline. So any number of things could be different. That what you're trying to tell me?"

The three friends nodded in confirmation and she couldn't help but groan. "Great. There goes any chance of you being able to prevent some bad shit from happening. It's like a blank slate. You don't know what the hell could happen to it."

Sarada nodded. "Yeah. However, not everything is different. Take this mission for instance. Everything's happening pretty much exactly as it normally would. The only major difference is with Haku. Everything else seems to be the same." she said with a shrug.

"Good point Sarada-chan." Naruto said. "We've already put things in motion for this mission to turn out better than it did in the timeline you three are from. But more than that, if things stay at least somewhat similar to how they went in your timeline, we might be able to avert certain tragedies. Of course...there might be some things that we shouldn't change. Kami, this is complicated. What the heck are we supposed to do?"

Himawari shook her head and said, "I don't know, Naru-kun. What I do know is that we need to be REALLY careful around people like Sasuke and Kakashi. If they find out our kekkei genkai, they are going to tell EVERYONE. You know that as well as I do."

Chocho scowled and shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe that they're really that bad. My parents weren't kidding when they told me Sasuke and Kakashi were assholes."

"Either way, we need to be very, very careful while we're here. You absolutely CANNOT let the members of Team 7 find out about your gifts. Himawari-chan, Sarada-chan, Chocho-chan? It's best if you three try not to fight while here. Focus on keeping the bridge builder safe instead. Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, if need be, the three of us will do the fighting. Is that understood?" Anko said with a dead serious look on her face.

Sarada frowned and asked, "What if we aren't given any choice but to use them to protect ourselves and/or the bridge builder?"

Anko sighed and rubbed the back of her head. "Then do it. I'll notify Hokage-sama about it and prepare him for the political backlash that's bound to happen as a result of Team 7 being a bunch of assholes." Taking a moment to think on it, she looked seriously into their eyes again and said, "Just make sure that Sai kid doesn't find out PERIOD. You do not want Danzo on your asses. Got it?"

All the members of Team 11 nodded and shouted out, "Yes, sensei! We won't let you down."

"Good. Now, we've kept them waiting long enough. Let's get down there and talk strategy." Anko said before she went about removing the silencing seals. Opening the door, she smirked at Kakashi, Sakura, and Sasuke. "It's not nice to eavesdrop, you know? Well, attempt to anyways."

Kakashi scowled beneath his mask and said, "If you six were holding a team meeting, why weren't we involved in it? We're supposed to be working together, after all."

Anko shrugged casually and said, "It was a meeting with my team, Kakashi. We needed to discuss some things. You and your team weren't needed. Now, since Zabuza and his little accomplice are out of the way for now, we need to take the fight to Gato. Rather than simply wait for him to make a move, we've been given the mission of assassinating that prick. Your team is responsible for guarding Tazuna, so you do that and we'll do our thing. Got it?"

The cycloptic jonin shook his head and said, "I'm in charge of this mission, Anko. If Hokage-sama gave you the mission to assassinate Gato, then my team can do that easily. You should handle guard detail. It's more suited to your team's skill levels. We've got better things to do."

The Snake Mistress scowled at Kakashi and thrust a letter in his face. "I'm not going to stand here and argue with you about this Kakashi. Hokage-sama gave us a mission and we're going to carry it out ourselves, whether you like it or not. Now get out of our way or I'll make you move."

Sasuke snatched the letter from her hands and ripped it in half. "What the hell gives you the right Whore?! Killing Gato is a much worthier mission of me than guard duty. So I'll be going after Gato. You and your worthless team should just stay out of my way."

Naruto growled and went to punch Sasuke for being such a disrespectful asshole, but Sarada held him back and shook her head. Seeing this, Sasuke smirked at him and said, "Aww, does your little girlfriend need to fight your battles for you dobe? You're as pathetic as I thought you were."

Sarada narrowed her eyes at Sasuke and walked up to him before punching him hard in the face, sending him crashing into the wall behind him. Turning away from him, she looked at Anko and said, "Come on Anko-sensei. Let's go complete our mission and leave these assholes to their own business?"

Kakashi placed a hand firmly on her shoulder and said, "I'll be sure to inform Hokage-sama about your insubordinate attitude. Let the superior team handle this mission, otherwise I'll make sure you can never advance in rank."

"Get your hand the hell off of my shoulder or I'll break it." Sarada said, glaring into Kakashi's eye.

Before Kakashi could comply, Naruto walked up and gripped Kakashi's wrist hard before shoving him away from Sarada. "Leave her alone asshole! If you think the old man will side with you simply because you've got the village's precious Uchiha on your team, you've got another thing coming! We'll tell him the truth of everything that happened on this mission and guess what's going to happen! You and your team will pay for your arrogance. That is what's going to happen."

Before things could spiral even further out of control, Tsunami walked up to them and shouted, "Enough of this! You are in my house and I won't have you fighting in here. If you've got some kind of disagreement, talk about it! Don't wreck my house because you've got issues with each other! Now, if you're quite done, food's ready. I made sure to prepare enough for all of you. So please, come down, behave, and enjoy the food I cooked for you." And with that, Tsunami turned around and made her way back downstairs.

Anko scowled at Kakashi for a moment before she shoved past him and said, "Come on team, let's go eat. And Kakashi?" Seeing she had his attention, she continued, "Hokage-sama will be hearing about this. If I had my way, I'd see you demoted down to chunin. But we'll have to wait and see what he chooses to do about you and your team."

Kakashi watched as the various members of Team 11 went downstairs to join Tazuna and his family for dinner. Looking back at Sakura and Sasuke, he frowned behind his mask and made a silent vow to himself that he'd make damn sure Team 11 paid for their crimes today.

Kneeling down beside the wounded Sasuke, he said, "Don't worry Sasuke, we'll make it our mission to hunt down and kill Gato. You'll get your Sharingan yet. First though, we really need to tend to your wounded shoulder before it gets infected. For now, we'll simply play along, but at night we're going hunting. Are you two on board with that plan?"

Sakura and Sasuke both nodded before the pinkette helped her crush rise onto his own two feet. Once he was standing again, Sasuke brushed Sakura's hands off of him before he began making his way down the stairs. I'll kill you, dobe. You and your little whores.

Two days later

Anko and the members of Team 11 were feeling insanely frustrated. Two days had passed and they had failed to find Gato's base of operations. It wasn't their fault though, oh no. Kakashi and the members of Team 7 were constantly getting in their way and leaving the bridge builder unguarded, all because they felt that they deserved to get the credit for killing Gato and his men.

Naruto had to create numerous shadow clones just to keep the bridge builder and his family safe because he wasn't about to fail his fucking mission because a bunch of spoiled assholes wanted to steal their mission from them. Taking a breath to try and calm himself, Naruto was somewhat startled when Zabuza and Haku suddenly appeared in front of him. "Yo kid, think you can gather your team? We need to talk."

The blonde slowly nodded and chanced a quick glance at the beauty standing at Zabuza's side. Turning away, he motioned over his shoulder to follow him.

It didn't take long for the group to reach Anko, and she called the whole team together, excluding Kakashi's team, who were once again out searching for Gato's base of operations. Deciding to leave them to it, as she just didn't fucking care anymore, she looked at Zabuza calmly. "So, come to a decision, I assume?"

Zabuza nodded and placed a gentle hand upon Haku's shoulder. "Yes. After some deliberation, we've decided to come with you to Konoha. We'd like to set down roots somewhere, and...and I want Haku to be safe. She's been through too much already as it is. Just...just promise me something. Promise me that she'll be protected."

Anko blinked a couple of times at the strange request. "What would she need to be protected from, exactly?"

Haku flinched and rubbed her right arm nervously. "I...I have a kekkei genkai. I can use Ice Release techniques and I'm skilled with one-handed seals. Promise that you won't let the people in charge of Konoha use me in some way?"

Anko offered her a kind smile and said, "Yeah. No problem kiddo. Hokage-sama may not be the greatest person in the world, but there's no way he'd let anything happen to you. You'll be well protected. Actually, you'll be best protected if you moved in with Naruto-kun here. His clan compound is the most secure place in the whole village. You don't mind moving in with Mr. Popular, do ya?"

Haku blushed at this and found the ground very interesting at that moment. "L-Living with a g-g-guy? I'm comfortable with Zabuza-sama, but…"

Sarada decided to help her out a little. "Hey, it's okay. We're all living with Naruto-kun as well and he's a sweetheart. I promise he won't hurt you. Ever. We just want you to be safe and happy, Haku-chan. If it helps, Naruto-kun will leave you alone if you want. Right, Naru-kun?"

Naruto frowned for a moment, but he nodded. "Yeah. If you really aren't comfortable with me being around, I'll leave you alone. It may be my house, but I want you to be comfortable there. If that means I need to avoid whatever room you may be in at the time, I'll do it. It might be kind of awkward for me for a while, but…"

Before Haku could say anything, Zabuza squeezed her shoulder gently to show his support. "We'll move in with you, kid. Haku will at least try to get used to your presence. You won't need to avoid her, but you need to be careful about how you talk to her and what you do in her presence. She's a good kid and she's been through far too much in her 18 years of life. Don't ask for details, because I'm not giving any and she's too scarred to share the story with all of you. Now, what's the plan regarding Gato and his goons?"

Anko looked him in the eyes and said, "If you know where Gato's hiding out, you can take us to him. We'll wipe out all his men and then torture the little pig until he gives up everything he owns. After that, we'll kill him. Sound good?"

Zabuza smirked and said, "That sounds good to me. The little shit's very likely planning to betray us. So I'm all for taking the fight right to him and his goon squad. I've got a question for you though: where're the other runts? I figured they'd be with you training or something."

Naruto grumbled and said, "Team 7 are on the hunt for Gato. They were supposed to be guarding Tazuna and his family, but they learned about our mission to find and kill Gato and have been trying to steal that mission from us ever since. We're going to explain everything that's happened to the Hokage once we get back to the village. They've abandoned their mission all because the one given to us was 'more worthy of them'. Bastards."

Haku frowned and said, "Really? Aren't shinobi supposed to do as they're told and follow their mission parameters to the letter? This is just ridiculous."

Anko nodded and said, "You're right. However, Kakashi has the 'last loyal Uchiha' on his team and everyone loves to kiss that little brat's feet. They'll do absolutely anything for him. Sooo, they've decided to undertake our mission because it's better for someone of Sasuke's calibur, or so they said. In truth, they're just a bunch of pricks."

"I can tell." Zabuza said. "Anyways, we'll take you to Gato's base of operations. Might wanna leave somebody to look out for the bridge builder and his family though. No telling what that corrupt little bastard will do."

Anko looked at the various members of her team before saying, "Naruto-kun, Himawari-chan, I want you two to focus on keeping the bridge builder and his family safe. I know you'd probably like to join us, but keeping them safe is just as important. Now go."

Naruto frowned for a moment before nodding his head in acceptance of that. "Right, Anko-sensei. Be safe, all of you." he said before he and Himawari left to keep an eye on the bridge builder. Damn you Kakashi! Damn you Sasuke! You just have to pull shit like this, don't you?

When they reached Tazuna's house, Himawari gently grabbed Naruto's hand and led him over to the pier. Sitting down with him, she asked, "Naru-kun? What's wrong?"

Naruto stared out at the water and contemplated his answer. After a while, he looked into her eyes and began to explain. "I...I wanted to get my first kill out of the way as soon as possible. I'm worried that I'll freeze up afterwards, and if it's during a critical mission or something, I'm...I'm scared, okay? I'm scared that somebody is going to get hurt because I froze up when it really mattered. I'm...I'm also scared that I might…"

When Naruto went quiet, Himawari tried to figure out what he was about to say before it hit her. Eyes widening, she smacked her lover in the back of the head before pulling him in for a passionate kiss. "You're not the kind of person that would actually enjoy killing someone, sweetheart. Sasuke is the kind of person that would enjoy it. You on the other hand? You're a good person and there's no way you could ever enjoy killing someone. So don't ever think such a thing again, got it?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and chuckled a bit. "You're right. Thanks Himawari-chan. I...I love you. I'm really glad you came into my life."

The blue-haired Uzumaki blushed and smiled happily at him before kissing him hungrily. When she broke the kiss moments later, she leaned in close and whispered, "I can't wait to ride you again. It'll be your turn to call my name."

Blushing deeply, Naruto chuckled bashfully and said, "Y-Yeah. That sounds good. If we had some actual privacy here, I'd be happy to, erm, do that with you again. But, we aren't exactly alone out here. Anybody could see us."

Himawari sighed deeply and said, "Yeah, you're right. It'll be hard to find time to be together intimately when we're out on missions. It suuuucks."

Naruto chuckled a bit before he rose to his feet and helped Himawari to her feet as well. Giving her another kiss, he walked with her into the house so they could relax for a while. Naruto had his shadow clones patrolling, after all, so they weren't too worried about anyone attacking Tazuna and his family.

Gato's Hideout

When Team 11 plus company made it to Gato's hideout, they were surprised to see the carnage. Looking around, they soon realized something that pissed them off. "Team 7's here somewhere. Let's proceed with caution. I don't want to deal with them if we don't have to."

Sarada scowled and said, "If we let them kill Gato, Sasuke's ego will only be inflated further. He's going to be an insufferably smug bastard! We have to be the ones to finish Gato, otherwise this whole thing's going to be blown to hell!"

Quickly entering Gato's base of operations, which was actually a rather fancy building, they saw a grotesque scene before them. Dead bodies lined the hallways, blood was everywhere, and it looked like a scene from one of those horror movies that some of them had seen before. However, they soon realized that they weren't far behind Team 7.

Hurrying towards their destination, they soon came across Sakura vomiting on the floor. They also saw a heavily wounded Sasuke lying unconscious on the floor nearby. However, they didn't see Sai nor Kakashi. Frowning at this, Anko looked at Hinata and said, "Tend to their wounds and do what you can to calm Sakura down. We're going on ahead to finish Gato before he can get away. Hopefully we beat Kakashi and Sai to the little bastard."

Hinata nodded once in understanding before hurrying to calm Sakura down. She didn't care if Sasuke suffered for a while longer. It would serve the bastard right, after all. Besides, it was stupid of him to attempt such a thing when his wounded shoulder prevented him from using one of his arms.

While Hinata tended to them, Anko and the others rushed on upstairs, soon catching up to Kakashi and Sai. They were busy fighting a large number of Gato's goons, so Anko ordered Sarada and Chocho to assist them while she ran ahead with Zabuza and Haku to ensure Gato didn't manage to escape.

Kakashi narrowed his eye at the 18 year-old girls and said, "You shouldn't be here. This is our mission to complete. Leave!"

Sarada glared at Kakashi and said, "You know what? Fuck you! We were assigned the mission to assassinate Gato and you insisted on trying to take that away from us! And for what? To please that stupid Uchiha brat?! You were supposed to be protecting Tazuna, but you've failed to follow through with your mission! We've had to pick up the slack because you're a damn asshole!"

Chocho decided to ignore Kakashi as she and Sarada went about finishing off the goon squad. When Kakashi and Sai went to proceed towards their target, the girls stepped in their way and Chocho said, "You're not going to interfere in our mission anymore, Kakashi. You and Sai should go tend to Sasuke and Sakura. You abandoned them back there all so you could go and take the credit for killing our target. What was it you always say? "Those who break the rules are scum, but those who betray their allies are worse than scum." Well, it looks like you're worse than scum, Kakashi. Go back and help your genin like a proper jonin sensei."

Narrowing his eye at the girls, Kakashi said, "You know nothing about me. I promised Sasuke that I'd kill Gato for him and allow him to take the credit. So what? You can't stop me. You're just a couple of weak genin. Now MOVE!"

Chocho simply smirked at him and said, "Weak, are we? You don't even know us, and thusly can't determine how strong we are. If you try to push past us, I promise you that we'll incapacitate you."

Sai frowned in thought for a while before he put away his tools. "It would be unwise to push this matter any further. I'll return to help tend to Sasuke's wounds." he said before turning and walking away.

Left on his own, Kakashi scowled and prepared to force his way through, only to be stopped as he heard a horrible scream echoing throughout the building. Realizing that Anko had gotten to Gato, he snarled and tried to force his way past Sarada and Chocho, only to be hit in certain spots that paralyzed him for the time being. Collapsing to his knees, he glared into their eyes before saying, "You'll pay for this. This was our mission!"

"I swear, you're like a broken record. Shut the hell up already!" Sarada said before slugging Kakashi hard enough to knock him out. "Hokage-sama better do something about these assholes. If he doesn't, we will. Right Chocho?"

The dark-skinned beauty smiled at her best friend and fistbumped her. "Definitely. I swear though, your father's a real prick."

Sighing heavily, Sarada rubbed her temples in an effort to stave off a growing headache. "Tell me about it. My mother's no better."

"Ain't that the truth? Ah well, nothing we can do about it. For now, let's drag this idiot back to the others and make sure Sasuke isn't dead or something." Chocho said before she grabbed Kakashi and dragged him along. She enjoyed it when his head hit every step on the way down the stairs.

Upon reaching the others, Sarada saw Sakura shaking as she leaned against a wall for support. Meanwhile, it appeared as if Hinata was attempting to patch up Sasuke's wounds as much as possible. However, he had woken up at some point and was struggling with her, cursing her and calling her a worthless bitch. Hinata took it all in stride and, after having enough of it, she struck a pressure point and paralyzed Sasuke from the neck down before she finished wrapping up his wounds.

After he was taken care of, she fixed what she had done to him and said, "There. Now relax. I don't want you reopening your wounds and making things worse."

When Sasuke went to snap at her, Hinata thrust a few fingers towards his forehead and stared him hard in the eyes. "Call me a bitch again and you'll see what happens. Now shut up and relax!"

Sasuke simply scoffed before turning away, choosing not to even look at her. Sighing softly to herself, Hinata joined Sarada and Chocho and closed her eyes. "Kami they're annoying."

It was at this point that Anko came down with Zabuza and Haku. Behind them, they were dragging Gato's dead body. "Okay kiddos, let's get going. I want to show the people of this country that they're finally safe from Gato's tyranny in as flashy a way as possible."

Nodding in understanding, the girls stood up and followed after Anko. However, they stopped and looked back at the members of Team 7 to see if they were capable of following them. Sighing to herself, Anko looked at Sai and asked, "Can you carry Kakashi?" Seeing him nod, Anko said, "Good." before she left with her team, Zabuza, and Haku.

The following day

The people of Wave were in shock as they stared at Gato's dead body as it hung from a large pole in the center of town. They were having a hard time believing their eyes, and some of them wondered if they were dreaming. However, when they tried various ways to wake themselves up, they came to the realization that Gato really was dead.

After it finally set in that they were finally free from Gato's tyranny, cheers began to echo throughout the village. Tazuna couldn't help but shed a few tears as he realized they'd be safe now. His people could finally smile again. Thank you. All of you. He thought to himself.

Naruto smiled as he looked at the crowd from atop a roof. He was with his girlfriends and they all looked equally as pleased with what was happening below them. "I'm glad we managed to save them. Nobody deserves to suffer like they have."

Hinata took Naruto's hand in hers and said, "You didn't deserve to suffer either, sweetheart. You still don't deserve it. Hopefully this will give people enough reason to see you aren't some kind of monster."

Naruto shrugged and offered her a smile. "I don't care if they acknowledge me or not anymore. I'm just happy to be with all of you." And with that, they began to chat about various topics, deciding it was best to just take it easy for now. All concerns were pushed out of their heads at the moment. When they returned to Konoha, only then would they see how things would turn out once they gave the Hokage their report. I certainly hope you take our side, Hokage-sama. I don't want to imagine what could happen if you decide to bend over backwards for Sasuke-teme. Please, please do the right thing!

A/N - And that's the chapter! Hopefully you enjoyed it. I know it's not my best work, but whatever. I'm just too damn tired to care right now.

As you can see, there weren't any lemons or anything in this chapter. I'm just not the kinda person that writes pure smut. There will be plenty of lemons and limes in this story, no worries about that, but I'm not going to include them in every chapter. It's just not who I am, you know? *shrugs*

Anyways, I really, REALLY need to get some sleep. I dunno what I'll be working on next. Sooo...yeah. I'm gonna crash now. x.x