Disclaimer: I don't own naruto or any of its characters as they are the property of Masashi Kishimoto.
The author of the cover image is indy-riquez from DeviantArt. You can check the link for the original image in my profile.

Chapter 6: The Verdict

-Konohagakure no Sato-

Konohagakure was one of the great five Shinobi villages, and its size and population sure showed it. The village was huge and was surrounded by a thick green forest that gave the place an air of calmness. The village was at the base of a mountain that had the faces of all the previous Hokage sculpted to honor the beloved leaders. The buildings ranged from small to big, but by far the tallest was the Hokage tower.

Right now Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage, was going through several stacks of paperwork and was none too happy about it. She was a blonde woman with long straight hair that framed her face that she kept in two loose ponytails. She was light-skinned with brown eyes and had a small violet mark in a diamond-like shape on her forehead. Her attire consisted of a gray kimono that showed her rather generous cleavage, dark blue pants and a green haori with the Kanji for 'gamble' in the back.

''Does this ever end? I have been doing this all day and I swear that the stacks aren't getting any smaller.'' Complained the blonde haired beauty and gave a frustrated sigh.

At that moment, her apprentice, Shizune, entered the office carrying an extra stack of papers. Which made Tsunade drop her head against the desk in frustration at having yet even more work.

''Come on Tsunade-Sama, it's not so bad. Only a few hours left and you are done for the day.'' Said Shizune. The Hokage's apprentice was a young woman with straight shoulder-length black hair and dark eyes. She was wearing a black kimono and like her master, she used High heeled sandals.

''If it's no big deal why don't you do the paperwork, Shizune?'' Said the busty blonde, still face down on the desk.

''W-Well, you see, I'm more useful tending to other tasks around here. I have my fair share of work too, you know. Yes, that's it'' Responded the raven haired girl with a nervous grin and a hand behind her head, which gave away her excuse.

''That's what I thought.'' Said Tsunade, eyeing the young girl with a deadpan look.

''Tsunade!'' both women gave a jump of surprise at the noise, and not a moment later Jiraiya appeared in the office, entering through the window.

The sage was almost out of breath, his clothes were ragged and one could see spots of blood here and there. His unusual appearance put the women on edge.

''Jiraiya? God, what happened to you?! And where is Naruto?! You guys were supposed to arrive a month from now.'' Asked a worried Tsunade. Something bad had to have happened to the pervert and Naruto for Jiraiya to be in this state.

''There is no time to lose, Hime. We were attacked by a squad from Iwa and members of Akatsuki. I lost Naruto in the chaos and I haven't managed to find him. I need a tracker team to help find him and I need it now'' Said Jiraiya with urgency, he was in such a hurry that he didn't even have the time to catch up with his old teammate.

After hearing that her surrogate godson was in trouble, Tsunade didn't waste another second and turned to her apprentice. ''Shizune! Fetch me team eight at once, along with Kakashi and Sakura! Move it!'' Shouted the healer with authority to the raven haired woman.

''Yes, Tsunade-Sama!'' Responded Shizune, sprinting for the exit. She was just as worried as her master and Jiraiya, as Naruto was like a little brother to her.

As soon as Shizune left, Tsunade looked once more to her former teammate with a stern face, showing she was serious now. ''Jiraiya, while we wait for them to get here, you are gonna tell me exactly what happened and you better not leave any details out.''

Jiraiya gulped. He knew that whenever Tsunade got like this it usually meant extreme bodily harm for him, but he started detailing everything to the full extent anyway, knowing that whatever punishment the Hokage gave him would be worth taking if it meant saving Naruto.

-Unknown Location-

Itachi and Kisame were in a cave, standing in a circle along with seven other figures that seemed to be some type of holograms.

''Well done. Our efforts in capturing the Yonbi and Gobi have been successful. We will soon begin the transfer to the Gedo Mazo'' Said the silhouette of a tall man with spiky hair, but his eyes were the feature that really stood out, as they were completely purple with a circular ripple-like pattern.

''I hope I was worth it, Pain-Sama. I lost my arm for that, un.'' Said another figure with the voice of Deidara.

''Good thing we didn't lose anything important then.'' replied another of the shadowy silhouettes, laughing at his own joke.

''Shut up, Hidan! I'll make you regret being immortal when I blow you up in a million pieces with my art!'' Yelled Deidara, enraged at his comrade.

''I'd like to see you try with only one arm.'' Mocked the figure now known as Hidan.

''Enough, both of you!'' Said the purple eyed man, and as soon as he reprimanded them they both stopped their dispute. When everything went silent again, the man resumed speaking. ''Speaking of which, we need to do something about that missing arm. We are going to go after the Ichibi soon. Suna's dessert is vast. When we capture the Ichibi there will be no place to hide from Suna's reinforcements. Deidara can grab the Jinchuuriki and get him out fast, so we will need him in top form. That's why I need Kakuzu to find a suitable body and attach its arm to Deidara.'' Said Pain to another figure with pupil-less green eyes and red sclera.

''Hmmm, fine. But I'll charge him for that.'' Said the figure now identified as Kakuzu.

''Hey, what happened to being a good comrade, huh?!'' Complained Deidara in indignation to the greedy man.

''All that matters in this world is money. Camaraderie has no place in business.'' Said Kakuzu sternly.

''You bastard!'' Said the bomber shaking a fist at the man.

''Be grateful that you are getting it back at all. You shouldn't have been so careless to lose it in the first place, idiot.'' Spoke a hunched figure that couldn't have been anyone else but Sasori.

''Not you too, Sasori no Danna!''

''That's enough of that. Just see to it that it gets done.'' Said Pain, putting an end to the topic. He instead turned to Itachi and Kisame and looked at them with emotionless purple eyes. ''And what about the Kyuubi?''

This time, it was Itachi who replied. ''We are sorry to inform that the Jinchuuriki was lost in the commotion of the battle. A lone Kunoichi managed to snatch the Kyuubi and ran off with our target. Their current whereabouts are unknown.''

''But the good news is that not even their allies seem to know where they are, which means that he is still out there and even more vulnerable than before.'' Said Kisame, trying to put a positive spin on their failure. He wasn't proud to be the one who lost the boy, especially when he had had him in his hands. ''We made sure of it. We returned to look for the Kyuubi once again. And after hunting down the measly search party that Iwa left behind, I was able to torture out of them all they knew about it. Before I killed them that is.'' Finished the man with a wicked grin.

''Then we should be on the lookout should the Jinchuuriki reappear. Even if the Kyuubi must be the last Biju to be sealed into the Gedo Mazo we can always confine him until we are ready for the extraction. Right now he is an easy catch, and we should not let the opportunity go to waste.'' Said Pain before turning to the rest of the members once more. ''Just one more thing. As soon as we find the Kyubi I shall send whichever team is the closest to him. So I need you all to be ready at a moment's notice. That will be all for now. This meeting is dismissed.'' Said Pain with finality.

After the leader put an end to the gathering, all the holograms vanished, leaving Itachi and Kisame alone in the cave.

''Well, there is that. I was so sure Leader-Sama was gonna get mad at us for letting the Kyuubi get away. I guess we are pretty lucky, eh, Itachi-San.'' Said the swordsman to his partner with a cocky grin.

''Indeed. Come, Kisame. We too have to continue our tasks.'' Said Itachi impassively as he turned to leave.

''Right behind you, Itachi-San.'' Replied the tall man before following after the Uchiha.

And so, both members left the cave to continue their duties.

-Turtle Island-

Darui stepped on the island and stretched his arms over his head, glad to finally reach his destination. He was tall, had dark skin and shaggy white hair that was just long enough to cover his left eye. He used the standard clothes used by Kumo ninja, but his was missing the sleeves. On his right shoulder was tattooed the Kanji for 'water' and on his left had the Kanji for 'lightning'. He also carried a cleaver-like sword strapped to his back.

He had been on a mission close to the coast when he got a message from the Raikage telling him that they had a situation in the Genbu(Turtle Island). Apparently, a couple of foreign Shinobi had somehow found the elusive island. That would usually mean that they were spies, but the fact that the two were from nations that hated each other made for a weird situation. So as the right hand of the Raikage it was only appropriate for him to deal with the issue personally. But Darui guessed that the real reason was that he was simply closer to the island and it was easier and more effective to send him to evaluate the situation himself.

He didn't wait long until the same Chunin with the green stripe on his nose showed himself to the dark skinned man.

''Glad that you could come, Darui-San. How was your trip?'' Asked the man in greeting to the respected Shinobi.

''You know how it is, Motoi-San. This place is always a pain to find, even with our Intel on its predicted path. But other than that the trip was uneventful.''Responded Darui in the calm and aloof manner that he usually displayed.

''Good to hear. Wish we could say the same, though. None of us has ever dealt with this situation.'' Said Motoi with a sigh and putting his hands on his waist. ''It's been such a long time since anyone besides our own men managed to reach this place.''

''Have they given you any trouble?'' Inquired Darui. He needed to know of anything suspicious they might have tried if he was to make a decision on what to do with them.

''Aside from when they were trying to tear each other apart when we first found them, no. They usually remain calm and silent in their cells, but once in a while, they start arguing among themselves. They are pretty loud when that happens, it drives the guards insane.'' Informed the lower ranked ninja to his superior.

Darui nodded in understanding. He didn't expect anything different. Having a Konoha and Iwa Shinobi together was like having cats and dogs together, so having them yell at each other was a given. ''I see. So you don't think they were spying together, then?''

Motoi paused for a moment, thinking over the behavior he had witnessed from the two until now. ''To be Frank, no, I don't think they are working together. Not only are they from enemy villages, but they really seem to not stand the other. But still, we can never be too careful.''

''Can you take me to them? I want to make my own opinion on the prisoners before I decide what to do with them.'' Said Darui a little more serious now.

Motoi nodded and signaled Darui to follow him as he led the way.

-Turtle Island's Cells-

The growls from Naruto's stomach resonated in the cell room. He and Kurotsuchi had been there for a day and a half. The Kumo ninjas had yet to talk to them to let them know their verdict. They only came from time to time to check on them and make sure everything was in order. And on top of that Naruto still had yet to eat. The orange-clad Genin was sitting in his cell complaining due to his hunger. And the pink-eyed girl was leaning against the stone wall with her eyes closed, trying to ignore the loud Konoha Shinobi.

''What I wouldn't give for a bowl of ramen right now. I'm starving.'' Lamented the Jinchuuriki while daydreaming with the marvelous food of Ichiraku ramen. How he missed his home. The longing of his favorite restaurant made his mouth water, much to the disdain of the Iwa Kunoichi. The sight of his drooling mouth made his cell partner grimace.

''I heard you the first twenty times, shut up already!'' Berated Kurotsuchi. Her patience was running thin, she had been tolerating the boy's noise (from both the blond himself and his stomach) for hours now, and she was sick of it. ''I'm hungry too and you don't see me bitching about it nonstop. And wipe your drool off, you are so disgusting!''

''You have no right to be telling me that! You are the reason I have been going for so long without food!'' Said Naruto, turning to look at the girl with an accusatory look.

The Iwa prodigy rolled her eyes uncaringly. ''At least they gave us water a couple hours back. That's more than you deserve. Also, I think I'm gonna start smashing my head against the wall if I hear you talk about ramen one more time.''

''And what's wrong with ramen? After all, nothing beats ramen when it comes to taste, Dattebayo.'' Said Naruto with assurance.

''Ramen is decent I suppose but is not that great, not nearly as much as you praise it anyway. Besides, it's unhealthy. I much rather have barbecue any day over ramen.'' Said Kurotsuchi as if she were explaining it to a child.

Naruto was in shock. For him, that affirmation was practically blasphemy. ''There is no way barbecue is better than ramen! Barbecue is only meat. Ramen can have meat too, but it can also have a lot of other stuff in it. There is simply no comparison!''

The Kunoichi was getting upset again. The obsession of the blond for his precious ramen was ridiculous. ''You Konoha idiots must not know how to cook meat then because in Iwa we at least... Wait, why are we even talking about this? We are imprisoned, for fucks sake! You are the one who complained about me worrying about my sword, and here you are daydreaming about junk food!''

''At least I'm trying to think about something else! We can't do much more than wait anyway.'' Replied Naruto, attempting to calm the hysteric girl.

''We were trespassing, we could die for that, you moron! At least show some concern for your sorry ass!'' Reminded him the short haired prodigy.

''I know that but...'' Whatever the boy wanted to say was interrupted when they both heard the door of the room open.

They saw the guy with the green line enter the building, closely followed by a white haired man that they had never seen before and the two guards that usually guarded their small prison.

They eyed the newcomer as he made his way to them. He calmly walked across the room and stopped in front of them, just between their cells.

Darui just stood there, looking back and forth between the two prisoners, evaluating them. Finally after a moment of awkwardly staring at each other, the Kumo Jounin spoke. ''So, you are the troublemakers. I'm surprised. I was expecting seasoned ninja, but you are just kids. How dull.''

they both seemed to take offense and frowned at Darui's comment on their age, thinking that it was a jab to their skills. Said man noticed the looks they were giving him, regardless, he continued talking.

''Sorry. I meant no disrespect. When I heard about this commotion I didn't expect the ones responsible to be so young. But anyway, that's not important right now. What is important, however, is that you both tell me what are you doing here. And don't even think about lying to me. I consider myself a good judge of character and I'm pretty good at reading people.'' Even with his laid back tone, the way he said it made Naruto and Kurotsuchi think that it wasn't a good idea to piss him off, not with their necks on the chopping block.

However, before any of them could start talking, Darui widened his eyes when he took a good look to their female prisoner. ''Wait a minute. I recognize you. You are the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, are you not?'' Asked the Jounin in surprise.

Motoi and the two guards gasped at hearing her identity and started whispering among them. No one of them expected to have in custody someone so important. A direct relative of a Kage is almost considered royalty in their respective villages.

Kurotsuchi mirrored Darui's expression of shock. She didn't think she would be identified so easily by the man. ''How do you know who I am?'' Asked the girl, warily.

Darui's surprise didn't last long, and he soon returned to his relaxed demeanor. ''You have been a recent entry on the Bingo books. If I recall correctly you were added because of your exceptional talent despite being so young. There have even been some rumors about you being a possible candidate for Tsuchikage in the future. As the boss's assistant, I always try to memorize individuals that stand out. Like you.'' Explained the man in an apparent calm, but knew that this made the situation even more problematic. If they were to kill the girl, it could cause an international incident; in fact, open war was a very real possibility, so he had to handle this carefully.

Naruto meanwhile, stared at the tomboy with something akin to awe. He hadn't really believed her when she said she would become Tsuchikage, he thought that she was simply making fun of his own dream of becoming Hokage. He couldn't help but feel a bit envious and competitive. He couldn't accept that such an unpleasant girl could be beating him in his goal, even to the point of being recognized in foreign nations. He turned away from Kurotsuchi and instead got Darui's attention. ''Hey, Excuse me, mister!''

Said man turned to Naruto and blinked slowly in curiosity at the unexpected interruption. ''Um, what is it?''

''Do you by any chance know about me?''Asked Naruto excitedly, curious to know if he was strong enough to be known in other villages.

Darui tilted his head and stared impassively at the boy's face for a minute as Naruto waited expectantly.

''I'm sorry. Your face doesn't ring any bells.'' Said the white haired man, putting a hand behind his head in an apologetic manner.

Naruto dropped his head in disappointment as Kurotsuchi smirked triumphantly.

''That's right. I forgot to introduce myself. Sorry about that. The name's Darui. Nice to meet you, despite the circumstances'' Said the dark skinned man jovially.

The man's carefree behavior made Naruto feel more at ease. ''Glad to meet you mister Darui. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!'' Proclaimed Naruto with a grin.

Darui and the rest of the Kumo ninja had an unreadable expression and a sweatdrop at the blond's bold declaration, while Kurotsuchi stared at the boy with a deadpan look. She thought he had to be the biggest moron on the planet to be acting so cheerful in the face of their captors.

''Umm...okay. Well, mister future Hokage, can you tell me what were you both doing here in the Genbu? This turtle island is not something that can be found just like that. So is natural that you seem suspicious'' Asked Darui to the blond, returning to the topic at hand.

Naruto widened his eyes in realization. He didn't know that this whole time he had been on the island he and the Ero-Sennin had been looking for. But soon shook off his surprise when he realized that he still needed to explain himself. So he became serious once more and started retelling his story. ''Oh right. You see, I was on a training trip with my pervert of a Sensei. And when we were sailing the ocean looking for a...a place to train, this crazy chick and an army of Iwa assholes attacked us.'' He conveniently left out that he and Jiraiya were looking for the island. Naruto wasn't the sharpest Shinobi there was, but he wasn't going to admit that he really intended to infiltrate the place, he was in enough trouble as it is. To his credit, he didn't know that the place was off limits, but he doubted that the Kumo ninja would care about his ignorance. ''So, anyway. After we were halfway through our battle with the bastards we got separated, but after we did, someone else appeared, a guy named Hoshigaki Kisame. Maybe you have heard of him.''

Once again, Darui was intrigued. Of course, he knew of Hoshigaki. He used to be the most powerful of the seven swordsmen of Kiri, and now was known as one of the most dangerous missing-nin there was. Hearing that they were attacked by such a guy made him wonder just how the heck did these kids survive. ''Yes I have heard of him. Please Go on.'' Said the Jounin with a nod.

''Well, there is not much after that. I fought him and he knocked me out. And when I woke up I was already in this place, restrained and gagged by her.'' Said the boy as he looked at the Kunoichi with a glare, which she replied to with one of her own and stuck out her tongue childishly. ''Anyway, after we were attacked by a freaking swarm of spiders I managed to escape in the chaos. After that, we fought and that's when you guys found us.'' Finished Naruto.

Darui looked suspicious, and after hearing the boy's version of the story he turned to the girl. ''Is what he said true? Anything else you wish to add?'' Asked the man.

Kurotsuchi frowned. She found strange that suddenly the man had started getting suspicious, it was obvious that he was wary of something, but she couldn't think of what. ''That's pretty much what happened. We basically just attacked him and Jiraiya, then Hoshigaki shows up and-''

''Wait. Did you say Jiraiya? As in, Jiraiya of the Sannin?!'' Asked a Shocked Darui. Motoi and the other Kumo Shinobi were also startled.

Kurotsuchi gave a nod to the white haired man. ''The same.'' confirmed the girl to the stunned men.

Just when Darui swore that they couldn't give him any more surprises, he realized what it had to mean. ''The apprentice of Jiraiya?!'' Thought the Jounin in astonishment when he remembered that the boy mentioned that he was traveling with his Sensei. After that, he turned to Naruto once again. ''Is it true? You are the student of Jiraiya?'' The toad Sannin was one of the most respected and powerful Shinobi of Konoha, having his apprentice captive just made things more complicated. As if having the Tsuchikage's granddaughter hadn't been enough.

The blond put on a confused expression. He didn't know what the big deal was. The Sannin was strong, sure, but he was also a huge pervert that liked to peep on women at any given chance. And the old man was stingy as hell on top of that. With all the money he made from his dirty books he had to be loaded, and despite that he still liked to spend Naruto's money instead of his own. ''Um, yeah, that old pervert is my Sensei.''

''This is unbelievable'' thought Darui in amazement while his companions started whispering once more. What was the chance that both of their prisoners were directly linked to such influential men? However, he still needed to focus on the task, he shouldn't let this revelation distract him. ''Boy, you said you were attacked by an army right? How many were the Iwa shinobi that attacked ?''

Naruto squinted in thought, trying to recall the huge platoon of ninja. ''I dunno. There were a lot of them, I think a hundred or something like that. Why do you ask?'' Questioned Naruto, not knowing why that was important.

Kurotsuchi, on her part, was starting to pale with worry. She realized too late what Darui was getting at.

Her suspicions were confirmed when Darui focused his whole attention on her once again. ''I find strange that you just happened to have such a big force when you engaged them, so that means that you came with the sole intention to assault them. But that raises another question: why did you need to attack them?'' Asked the white-haired man with a stern face.

Kurotsuchi was sweating bullets. The last thing she wanted right now -Besides being executed of course- was for Kumo to realize that the idiot was a Jichuuriki. If they took the Biju for themselves then all her struggles would have been in vain. ''I-I-Isn't it obvious?! We wanted to destroy potential threats to Iwa and we knew that Jiraiya wouldn't be easy to take out, and if we eliminated his student while at it all the better!'' She knew that she was screwed. That excuse was weak and she knew it, but with her nerves, she couldn't come up with a better one on the spot.

Both teenagers, and even Motoi and the guards, gave a small jerk in panic when Darui unsheathed his sword and the sound of metal meeting stone echoed when the tip of the blade touched the floor as Darui wielded it.

The Jounin glared coldly at the now bleached face of the girl. ''I warned you to not lie to me. If what you said truly was the case, then you wouldn't have bothered to keep the boy alive. I have been very lenient to both of you so far, but I can't take the risk of knowing that you may be hiding something dangerous to us. Tsuchikage's granddaughter or not I'm not just gonna let you make a fool of us.''

Naruto had a concerned look as he watched the girl tremble in fear at Darui's threat. He knew that he probably should feel glad that the girl was getting tormented for once considering that she tried to make his life miserable, but he just didn't enjoy watching another person in need, especially when they were helpless. That was just the kind of person he was.

The startled Motoi tried to reason with the Jounin. ''Wait a moment, Darui-San! We should think this through first! Killing someone related to a Kage is not to be taken lightly.''

Darui ignored the protests of his fellow Kumo ninja, inserting his cleaver-like sword between the bars of the cell and lifted Kurotsuchi's head with the flat side of the blade to force her to look him in the eye. ''Now, tell me what were your true reasons. By your reaction, I can guess it's something big, and I need to know every detail for you being here, especially if it's important. Last chance to tell me, or else.'' He left the threat hanging in the air to let it sink in into the girl.

Kurotsuchi had lost all her bravado by now. Her face was frozen in terror as she trembled in fear. She didn't want everything to end, not like this! She didn't want to dishonor her village, but she didn't want to lose her life over the mission either. She decided that it was best to lose her pride than her head. She started to open her mouth to give a reply but was interrupted before she could.

''I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi.'' Said Naruto, intervening in their conversation.

That confession made everyone go silent and turned to look at the boy in shock, unsure if they heard him right. Motoi and the guards were agape, Darui was staring wide-eyed at the blond and Kurotsuchi was surprised and confused that the idiot had revealed something so delicate to save her neck.

''That can't be...'' Mumbled Motoi, still speechless. A Jinchuuriki was the ultimate weapon of their respective villages, having one of them captive was a serious matter. That fact alone was enough reason to cause an international incident.

''You can check if you want. The seal is in my belly'' Said Naruto with a serious face to the dumbfounded Kumo ninja.

Darui withdrew his blade from Kurotsuchi, to which the girl gave a sigh of relief at having the focus diverted from her, and signaled the Chunin to inspect the boy's claims.

Motoi and the two guards hastily entered Naruto's cell. The Brown haired Chunin knelt down to lift the boy's jacket, exposing his stomach. After Naruto channeled some Chakra a collective intake of breath was heard in the room as the spiral pattern of the eight trigrams seal manifested itself in the blond's skin.

''It's true! He is a Jinchuuriki! What do we do, Darui-San?!'' Asked Motoi at a loss of what to do about this development.

Darui had almost dropped his blade when he saw the seal and he couldn't take away his eyes from the ink pattern. He had seen enough. Now he knew that the situation was a lot more complicated than he could have ever thought it would be when he was first called here. He was now just starting to understand the magnitude of the issue. Iwa had sent an entire battalion, among them the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, to try to kill Jiraiya of the Sannin and capture Konoha's Jinchuuriki, which was the student of said Sannin on top of that. And now both nations probably thought that both the Jinchuuriki and the girl were dead or captured by the enemy.

This was the kind of stuff that could start wars, and Darui didn't want Kumo to be anywhere close if the shit hit the fan. Oh, he knew that the Raikage wouldn't concern himself with the possibility of pissing off the other nations. Ay wasn't a man that backed out from a fight, but he had sent Darui to handle the matter himself. And personally, the right hand of the Raikage didn't want to involve Kumo in the mess that was sure to come, not if he could help it. So there was only one thing to do: Wash his nation's hands from all of this.

Motoi and the two other Kumo Shinobi were waiting impatiently for Darui's answer, while Naruto and Kurotsuchi looked at the man with sweat running down their faces in anticipation for whatever his decision might be.

Finally, Darui spoke. ''Motoi-San. Please gather some of our men from the island and make a team for me. I'm gonna escort these two to the border.''

The order surprised everyone, especially Naruto and Kurotsuchi.

''Wait a minute! Are you really gonna let us go just like that?'' Asked the girl, incredulously.

''Really? Heck, yea! I knew you seemed like a nice guy, mister!'' Exclaimed the blond in gratitude.

''Are you sure about this, Darui-San? They found the Genbu, after all.'' Said Motoi, uncertain if this was the right idea.

''Everything points that they really found this place by mere chance. I don't think they could find this place again even if they tried. Right now I just don't want to involve ourselves with whatever problem Iwa and Konoha have among them. So please Motoi-San, just find the team I asked for.'' Said Darui with resolution.

''As you wish, Darui-San'' Finished Motoi with a salute and swiftly left to start his endeavor.

As the Chunin left, Darui turned to the two guards. ''Please, let these two out of there, and release them from their bindings. I have faith that they will behave. Isn't that right?'' He said as he turned to give a look of warning to the two teenagers.

''Of course!'' responded Naruto and Kurotsuchi in unison.

The dark skinned man nodded in approval and the two men started opening the cells to free the captives. ''Good to hear. It would be dull to get into trouble with your nations if I ended up killing you, so don't force me to. I don't like to brag, but I'm not the boss's right hand for nothing. I can carry myself pretty well in a fight.''

Kurotsuchi rubbed her wrists as she stood up, glad to finally be able to move her limbs. She had been immobile for more than a day so it was natural to feel sore. She couldn't wait to get out of there and stretch her legs.

''Hey'' Called Darui to the girl.

The pink-eyed prodigy turned to look at the Jounin with wariness. She was still shaken up from before.

The man gave her an apologetic look and put a hand on his neck. ''I'm sorry about before. I wasn't really gonna kill you. I just wanted to make you talk and thought that was the most effective way to do it. I hope you are not angry.''

''Of course not. Why would I be angry?'' Said the Kunoichi through clenched teeth and with a nervous tic. ''you put a blade to my neck, threatened me, and humiliated me. Of course I'm angry!'' thought the girl while trying to keep herself calm.

''Ahhh. Feels good to be able to move freely again!'' Said Naruto with a grin while stretching his arms over his head. ''Thanks a lot, mister Darui! When can we go?''

''We will be on our way as soon as Motoi comes back. It shouldn't be long. But I must warn you, I don't want you fighting each other on the way. I don't care if you want to rip each other's guts, just don't do it while you are on the Land of Lightning.'' Explained Darui calmly to the teenagers.

Kurotsuchi looked at Naruto with Disdain and narrowed her eyes. ''Fine by me. Just don't let him get close to me. I can't stand the idiot.''

''Same here! Like I would want to be anywhere close to someone like you!'' Replied Naruto hotly.

Darui was already dreading the trip. Not even seconds after telling them to behave they were throwing insults at each other.

''Mister Darui!'' Called Naruto cheerfully to the man.

''Hmm. What is it?'' Asked the Jounin, turning to look at the blond.

''Can I make a request before we go?'' begged the boy with his hands clapped together.

''Go ahead'' Replied Darui with curiosity.

''Can we eat something first? I'm starving!'' Said Naruto with a hand in his stomach for emphasis.

Kurotsuchi groaned in exasperation at once again hearing the blond complain about his hunger.

''Sure I guess...''Said the white haired man, taken back by the blond's carefree and cheerful disposition.

''All right!'' yelled Naruto and giving a jump in victory.

''Why can't you stay quiet for even a minute, dumbass!'' Reprimanded the Kunoichi, ready to restart their argument.

Darui gave a sigh at the turn of events. ''This isn't exactly how I expected my day to go''

Author's notes:

This chapter took me a lot longer to write than I first anticipated, sorry about that. I originally planned to have Naruto and Kurotsuchi meet killer bee, but I remembered that Ay doesn't let killer bee leave Kumo. The guy had to make everyone think he had been captured by Sasuke just to get a break for a while, so it wouldn't have made sense to have him on the Island, but Darui was a good option too. I'm happy how it turned out.

I have to say, this story has made me have a newfound respect for the authors that are always uploading long-ass chapters so regularly. This is the most I can do right now in about a week, it's insane! Granted, I'm busy with college and a job, but still I have nothing but admiration for writers.

And that's all for now! please Review if you have the chance, that is always appreciated! See ya in the next update!