Sorry for the delay. I tried to update this twice, but FF was playing up. For future reference, if something like this happens again, I will make the chapters accessible on my pat reon for free, as this one currently is now. You can also see things weeks in advance if you become a patron, but that is neither here nor there. Expect the next chapter up as soon as FF stops playing up.
SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan.

Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Naruto anime/manga. All I own are my original characters and plot twists.

'Talking'

"Thinking"

'Heavily demonic voice'

'Fox talking'

"Fox thinking"

*expression*

Jutsu

Flashback

Chapter 5 – Veil

Rokusuke was desperately clawing at the ground, trying to unearth their friend who had been buried.

'Just hold on, I'll get you out.' Declared Rokusuke, only for a group of men to accost him.

'No!' Screamed Rokusuke in fear, before being dragged away.

-line break-

'So Neji, what's the plan here anyway?' Asked Naruto.

'We need to investigate first. Running blindly into things is never a good option.' Said Neji.

'Hey, it works for me most of the time.' Protested Naruto.

'Really? Remind me how your last mission outside the village went.' Scoffed Tayuya, causing Naruto to frown.

'Fine, point taken.' Said Naruto sourly, causing Neji to raise an eyebrow.

The group made their way to where the villagers were being forced to mine gold and noticed a few men in cloaks were directing them.

'Come on Neji, we've got them right where we want them now.' Said Naruto.

'Not yet, we need to finish canvasing the area. There may be more of them around hiding, or keeping watch.' Said Neji.

Naruto gave a huff of irritation, which turned into a growl, when he saw an old man fall over, only for the men in cloaks to start yelling and taunting him.

'Right, you just leave this to me.' Said Lee calmly, preparing to jump down there, only for Tayuya to pull him back down harshly.

'No, leave this to me. Seriously, you are just as impulsive as him.' Grumbled Tayuya, before pulling her flute out.

A sharp piercing melody was heard by the men down there, before they fell down unconscious.

'See, was that so difficult?' Said Tayuya, before jumping down there.

'I must say, that was quite an efficient way of dealing with things.' Appraised Neji, as the other four followed her.

'Of course it is. Sticking out and being flashy where I grew up got you killed, or worse, recruited.' Said Tayuya.

'Why would being recruited be a bad thing?' Asked Lee.

'Because the recruiter was Orochimaru.' Said Tayuya.

'I thought I recognised you.' Said Neji, stiffening up slightly.

'Yeah, I was on the other side of your last mission. It would have been my last mission too, if I didn't manage to run away fast enough and save his life. Don't let that stop you though, if you want to be like pinky and start declaring how all of this is my fault, then go right ahead, like I give a damn anyway.' Said Tayuya, crossing her arms over her chest.

'I see… that explains at the very least what you are doing on this mission with us. I wondered why the Hokage would assign someone we had never met to our mission, now I know I suppose. You're on a probation of sorts, aren't you? In other words, your fate is hanging in the balance currently.' Said Neji.

'The hell it is! I'm making my own fate! If it was just bloody hanging in the balance, I'm sure that trench coat lesbian would have already strapped me down and had her way with me.' Huffed Tayuya.

'Trench coat lesbian?' Questioned Tenten.

'She means the second exam lady, Anko whatever.' Said Naruto, before turning to the downed man, who was in shock.

'No, what have you done? Quickly, you need to do the same to me, or they will think I did this!' Cried the old man in fear.

'Here, take it easy old man. You look like you need something to drink.' Said Naruto, offering his water to the man, only for him to slap it away.

'Hey what are you doing!' Yelled Naruto in indignation, only for the man to ignore him and start punching himself in the face, before the sound of a gong was heard.

'Oh no, a funeral.' Whispered the man in fear.

'A funeral? Is that what that bell means?' Asked Neji.

'That sound is signalling for all of us to attend a funeral. Raiga is going to bury someone alive.' Said the old man.

'That's horrible! That's one of the worst things I've ever heard of!' Exclaimed Tenten in shock.

'That wouldn't be for you, would it?' Asked Neji.

'No, I heard they caught Rokusuke this morning.' Said the old man.

'Rokusuke, we need to save him!' Exclaimed Naruto.

'We will. We will deal with our previous mission later as well, all I need to know moving forward for this mission, is can we trust you?' Said Neji to Naruto, before turning to Tayuya.

'Well, I didn't try to kill you in your sleep, which is more than what I can say for what happened in Sound. Besides, he seems to trust me, isn't that enough?' Replied Tayuya, gesturing to Naruto.

'I suppose. Anyway, let's go.' Said Neji, before the group of four took off.

-line break-

The group of five made their way to the burial site, which was marked with numerous gravestones. A group of men were currently standing around one such grave which looked freshly dug. Neji activated his Byakugan and focused on the grave, eventually picking up that there was a living person inside.

'Let's move, there is someone still alive inside that coffin.' Said Neji, prompting the other four to nod and rush the men.

Naruto, Tayuya, Tenten and Lee quickly dealt with a foe each, rendering them unconscious. Naruto and Neji both spotted one more man hiding off to the side. The man panicked and prepared to flee, only for Lee to drop down behind him and throw a fist towards his face. The man cried out fear and fell on his bottom, causing Lee to pause as he noticed something.

'Karashi? Is that you?' Asked Lee in shock.

The man removed his hood and huffed.

'Yeah, so what?' Asked Karashi.

'What are you doing here with these men? Why are you not with your grandmother?' Asked Lee.

'I'm making a difference here instead of working in a curry shop. The man who is in charge is a great man, he liberated the gold mines and saved the people.' Said Karashi.

'Karashi, it was more than just a curry that you made. It literally saved my life. Now, you are working with these people who have no regard for human life, how can you?' Shouted Lee.

'What did I ever get making curry all day? Nothing. Here as part of the Kurosuki family, I'm part of something bigger, something powerful and feared. I'm important now, not some nobody.' Said Karashi, turning his gaze away from Lee.

'Really? You think you are powerful just because you joined up with a group of dickless losers? Face it kid, you're still just as weak as you were before, only now you're someone else's bitch. If you like taking it from behind that's fine, but if you want to become stronger, you're doing shit all to get there.' Said Tayuya, walking over to the group, with a pale Rokusuke over her shoulder, before she dropped him on his bottom.

'While I would not have phrased it like that, she is right. Turn back now, Karashi, to the man you were before.' Said Lee.

'You're right, I'm sorry, please forgive me.' Said Karashi, slumping forward on his knees.

Neji looked up towards the cliff to their right and noticed a figure standing there.

'You four, let's go, there is someone up there.' Said Neji.

'Karashi, please stay here.' Said Lee, to which Karashi gave a small nod.

'Let's go.' Said Neji, before the five raced up the cliff.

-line break-

'So Itachi, remind me again why you decided to take this little detour?' Asked Kisame, as he walked alongside his partner.

'I have reason to believe we should.' Said Itachi vaguely.

'You know Itachi, I do appreciate that you have a flair for dramatics, but I'd like some answers too.' Chuckled Kisame.

'If you listen carefully enough, you would know.' Said Itachi.

Kisame paused for a moment and listened carefully, only to hear nothing. Kisame was about to speak up, until he picked up a single word carry over the horizon.

'Now I get it, but why are we following them?' Asked Kisame in amusement.

'I believe they will lead us to our target.' Said Itachi.

Kisame grinned at this and gave a laugh, before shaking his head in amusement.

'Whatever you say.' Said Kisame.

-line break-

The group of five reached the top of the cliff and carefully looked around, trying to find the enemy Neji had sighted. Naruto shifted his gaze to an outcropping higher up and seemed to be staring a hole through it. Tayuya noticed Naruto's gaze and followed it, not finding anything out of place. Naruto subtly walked closer to Tayuya, with her doing the same.

'Do you see it?' Asked Naruto quietly, only for Tayuya to shake her head.

'A pity. How about now?' Asked Naruto, gently touching Tayuya's hand, slightly startling her.

Before she could question the action, she noticed what seemed to be a path appearing before her eyes, clearing the mist as it went and revealing a figure wearing a cloak standing on the top of the cliff.

'How did you do that?' Asked Tayuya gobsmacked.

'Though I have never used it before, implicit trust enables me to show others what I see. I'm touched you already trust me so wholeheartedly, to let me manipulate your senses and mind to such a degree.' Said Naruto, giving a small laugh of amusement.

Tayuya was about to respond to that, when she saw the figure raise their hands and build up chakra.

'All of you, get away!' Shouted Tayuya suddenly, jumping to the left as, Naruto jumped to the right.

Neji, Tenten and Lee heeded the words of the former ninja of Orochimaru and leapt away, just as a ball of lightning struck down where they had been.

'What was that?' Asked Lee.

Neji's pupils quickly swivelled around, trying to locate where the attacks had come from.

'You aren't going to find them like that.' Said Tayuya, before a piercing melody was heard.

Neji felt the chakra being woven through the air and realised Tayuya was using a Genjutsu, but was confused, as it was being directed towards nothing according to his Byakugan. This was later proved false, when a figure stumbled down the cliff, regaining themselves halfway down and leaping to come to rest on the same level as the Genin.

'So you have a few tricks too, do you? It won't matter though; I'll be sure to give all of you a funeral before this day is done.' Said the figure, before raising two bladed swords up into the air.

'I won't let you.' Said Lee, rushing to kick the figure.

A ball of lightning was quickly launched at Lee, shocking him and causing him to cry out in pain, as he was flung back.

'Lee!' Cried Tenten and Neji, before narrowing their focus on their new foe.

Neji rushed the figure while Tenten launched a multitude of kunai at the figure, trying to provide enough cover for Neji to get close. Just before Neji could get within range to attack with his clan's signature Taijutsu technique, a ball of lightning was launched at him as well.

'Rotation!' Cried Neji, spinning in place and ejecting chakra outwards, forming a protective dome that nullified the elemental jutsu.

'Rasengan!' Cried Naruto, leaping at the figure from behind, giving it little time to dodge.

The figure twisted slightly to the side, only for the sound of tearing to be heard.

'No Ranmaru!' Cried the man in worry, as a small child-sized lump was flung off his back and skidded along the ground.

'Gentle Fist Art: Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!' Proclaimed Neji, before rushing the distracted swordsman.

Neji's fingers shot out quickly and precisely, striking many of the man's chakra points with increasing speed and ferocity. As the man was flung back by the final attack, Lee swung into motion. A quick spinning kick to the figure's head had him knocked to the ground unconscious. The five ninja regrouped at this.

'Good work team.' Praised Neji, getting a nod of acknowledgement from Tenten and Lee, along with a grin from Naruto, while Tayuya settled for a small snort.

'Thank you for the warning as well.' Said Neji to Tayuya pointedly.

'Just doing my job.' Grumbled Tayuya, before walking over to the large lump that had been knocked off the larger figure's back.

'What the hell is this thing though? Guy was carrying it on his back before Naruto knocked it off.' Said Tayuya.

The group walked over to it, with Neji trying to examine it with his Byakugan, only to see two piercing red eyes stare at him.

'It is… a person I think.' Said Neji, eyes wide in surprise.

Tenten took that as her que to open it and indeed, a small child, with purple hair was inside. Naruto backed away slightly at this and made his way over to the downed swordsman. Naruto flipped him over and quickly examined him.

'Well, this is indeed Raiga, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. He wasn't much of a challenge though. At least Zabuza put up a decent fight. He must have been relying on that child's eyes to match his fellow swordsmen.' Said Naruto quietly, as Tayuya walked up to him.

'So he basically couldn't cut it on his own and needed help? Pathetic.' Scoffed Tayuya.

'Yes, without that boy, even you could have beaten him with ease.' Said Naruto, taking a little amusement at Tayuya's snarl.

'Whatever. What was that thing you did before?' Asked Tayuya.

'In the same way that I can bring someone's fears to the surface, I can also imprint things. You couldn't see them on your own, but by me allowing you to see what I wanted you to, in other words, removing everything obscuring them and directing your eyes towards their location, you were able to perceive them. Sight is all about light and the right shading can make anything visible.' Explained Naruto.

'And the reason you touched me to do it?' Asked Tayuya.

'That is your test for today. It is one of the most obvious weaknesses of creating illusions.' Said Naruto, as he tied Raiga up.

'So there are weaknesses?' Questioned Tayuya in shock.

'Of course, otherwise I would have already ascended to the seat of God, or taken over the world's ramen supply, either or really.' Said Naruto in amusement.

'Guys! I tied this guy up! What are we going to do with him now?' Asked Naruto, dragging Raiga behind him carelessly.

'Well, our mission was to liberate the gold mines and with this battle won, all we need to do is round up the other Kurosuki members. I suppose we could hand him in for his bounty, as based on his headband, he is a missing-nin.' Said Neji calmly, before Tenten freaked out at something.

'No way! Those are the Kiba! The legendary blades!' Exclaimed Tenten.

'Legendary blades?' Questioned Naruto in confusion.

'Yes Naruto. As I recall, you faced Zabuza on one of your missions early on. Zabuza was a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and possessed the Kubikiribouchou, one of the other legendary blades.' Said Lee.

'Yeah, now that you mention it, that blue guy with Itachi, Kisame, he had a weird sword too. This guy was way weaker than those two though.' Said Naruto, cleaning his ear out with a finger absentmindedly.

'That is because I was Raiga's eyes. We worked together.' Said the boy.

'So you can talk.' Said Neji calmly, turning his rather intimidating gaze on the child.

'Yes, Raiga was my legs and I was his eyes, together we were unbeatable.' Said the boy.

'That worked out well for you didn't it.' Snorted Naruto, causing Tenten to scold him.

'Naruto, don't talk to him like that, he's just a kid!' Protested Tenten.

'And we aren't? Face it, this kid, if he has been with this guy for even only a few days, has stood by and watched people die. He has just as much blood on his hands as him. His age doesn't mean shit.' Commented Tayuya.

'That is most unyouthful to say.' Said Lee, with a frown.

'Kids way younger than him have become famous for killing. Your own village produced two of the most infamous, Kakashi Hatake and Itachi Uchiha. When you are a ninja, being a kid doesn't mean a thing.' Continued Tayuya.

'She does have a point, Lee, Tenten. As much as I would like to agree with you, the three who hired us already lost someone to this pair, buried alive in fact. Do not take pity on someone just because they are a child.' Said Neji.

'But Neji…' Protested both Lee and Tenten.

'No, there is more than a grain of truth to Tayuya's words. Child or not, he is not innocent.' Stated Neji firmly.

'He is right. I was happy with Raiga. He helped me see the world and I helped him. We were an inseparable pair. I don't have any regrets from what I helped cause, I only care for Raiga, as he only cares for me.' Said the boy.

'Come on, let's just go round up the rest of those thugs down there and call it a day.' Said Naruto, before hopping down the cliff, Tayuya quickly followed, leaving the three ninja of Team Guy together.

'Neji, how could you agree with what she said?' Asked Tenten, sounding slightly offended.

'Tenten, you are being too emotional. Think about what we are, we are ninja. This child, child or not, possess a powerful bloodline and helped that man kill many. The two of you haven't experienced the true loss that comes through the duties of a ninja… and I hope you never do. That girl, Naruto, even I, we have all experienced a great deal of pain and suffering, even before we became ninja. It would not have been too difficult for us to end up like this boy, in fact, Tayuya most certainly would have been, working under Orochimaru, a killer if there ever was one… point being, sympathy for those who are complicit with the death of others is misguided. If you want to feel bad for someone, feel bad for the friends and families that lost their loved ones to these maniacs.' Said Neji.

'Neji, surely you are not condoning this? It would be most unyouthful to blame a child for a man's actions.' Protested Lee.

'Yet it was because of this child that that man was able to cut down so many. Don't let your emotions blind you, Lee, you remember what happened to someone else who let their emotions control their actions.' Said Neji sharply, causing Lee to frown and look away.

'I understand, Neji.' Said Lee, surprising Tenten.

'Really Lee? You agree with this now too?' Questioned Tenten.

'Tenten… on our last mission, we came very close to dying. Not just me, Neji, Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, even Gaara, all of us very nearly died on our last mission. It is not fair to overlook the actions of others due to our own emotions.' Said Lee somberly, causing Tenten's expression to soften.

'Lee… I'm sorry, I guess I didn't really think things through.' Said Tenten.

'Now that the two of you have calmed down, I would like to ask you of your thoughts on Tayuya.' Said Neji.

'I think at times she can be most unyouthful, but she does have quite the intelligent head on her shoulders. We could have been quite badly hurt had she not warned us.' Said Lee.

'She seems pretty cynical about things though, I mean it could be from being with Orochimaru, but I don't know.' Said Tenten, with a shrug.

'Do the two of you trust her?' Asked Neji.

'I suppose.' Said Tenten.

'Yes, Tayuya has proven she can be youthful if the situation calls for it.' Added Lee, causing Tenten to sigh at Lee's phrasing of his support for the redhead.

Neji nodded at this with a thoughtful expression.

'Lee, grab Raiga, Tenten, you take the boy. Let's end this mission and return to the village.' Said Neji, getting a nod from the two before they headed off to join Naruto and Tayuya.