Chapter 3.9 – Contacts and Fights Extraordinaire

Quick Synopsis:
This story takes place in a different path from after Naruto and Sasuke fight in the Valley of the End. Sasuke actually goes back with Naruto and both reclaim their friendship in the hospital after spending some days knocked out. After that, all the Genin teams are split up into different teams to carry out missions for one grand mission: The Defeat of Orochimaru. Gai has Tenten, Neji, and Kiba. Kurenai has Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura. Kakashi has Sasuke, Lee, and Shino. Naruto, Hinata, and Choji have been taken under the command of the ANBU and they are being trained by a mysterious man known as Capt. Soonaga. This chapter picks up after Shikamaru splits from his group in a border town to collect information on the order of Kurenai:

Kurenai's Group:

As they watch Shikamaru leave, Sakura and Ino ask Kurenai what their mission is. Kurenai then hands them some identification papers. They look them over. They notice something odd.

"What are we suppose to be?" asks Sakura.

"That's simple," states Kurenai. "Both of you are guards for an ambassador from the Silk Country.

"Really?" asks Ino. Sakura then gets what Kurenai is talking about.

"Kurenai-sensei, are you the ambassador from the Silk Country?"

"Yes, Sakura, I am. We will also need to get lodging and talk with the mayor of the city to negotiate "trade" while Shikamaru gathers information. Also, the three of us will try to find and extract information from enemy spies that we have learned are in this country, so, let us get going!"

They enter town in a dignified way. As they walk down the street, Sakura and Ino announce out that an ambassador from the Silk Country has arrived. Many people look at them and pay respects.

While they are walking, one man tries to come close to them just to touch them. He has a odd look in the eye, but both Sakura and Ino send him flying yelling.

"Do not touch the ambassador, pervert!"

"Shina Karai (Sakura)!" yells Kurenai. "And Setori Aaya (Ino) respect your spots and not to cause trouble!" They fall back on either side of Kurenai.

"Yes Ambassador!" they yell.

They continue to an inn with stoic looks on their faces. As they walk away, they are unaware of three cloaked people watching them with interest. One of them says that "their" here, so let's follow. Meanwhile, Kurenai and her "guards" have arrived at an inn. The innkeeper is shocked that an ambassador has arrived, and asks how he may be of service.

Kurenai speaks up. "I am Ambassador Madoka of the Silk Nation, and I need a room to fit myself and my guards for a bit. We will be staying for a week, and we also like a regular room."

Kurenai then dumps some gold on the table. The man gives them some keys plus spares. The group goes to leave, but Kurenai stops. Her guards stop too. Kurenai then talks to the innkeeper in a menacing voice.

"Do not to let anyone know that we are here. If you does, I will unleash my guards on you. They are young, but they can crush rock and bones with ease."

The man starts to sweat when all three of them give him evil looks. They then take some stairs up to their room. While they are going up, they start to talk.

"Ambassador Madoka," asks "Karai". "How long will we keep this up?"

"For about a week or a little longer Karai"

"Well," says "Aaya". "This is already getting fun!"

Laughing, "Karai" agrees.

As they reach their door, however, all three are surprised to find three cloaked people in front of their door with shining eyes. Sakura and Ino get into fighting stances, while Kurenai just calmly stands there. One of the figures then speaks out. "Ambassador Madoka', you are here at last." Sakura and Ino are surprised that the voice is that of a girl and they could swear that they have heard it before.

"Well," says Kurenai," We are glad that you are here. How are you doing, Temari?"

Both Ino and Sakura are shocked as all of the cloaked people throw their cloaks and some sand goggles off, revealing Temari and two other people. Then everyone says hi.

"Let's go in our room to discuss things," Kurenai suggests.

They open the door to reveal a room with 4 beds and 3 coaches.

"Wow, is this really a standard room?" Ino wondered with awe.

Temari laughed. "There is only the best for the ambassador of the Silk Country."

She then introduces her two companions, both chunnins, one of them a guy and the other and the other a girl. The girls name is Kira, and she bows slightly. She has an ability to shapeshift. Temari then introduces the guy. His name is Hatari, and he specializes in blending in to surroundings and impersonating anyone. He gives a smile.

Kurenai then introduces herself. She introduces Ino next (Aaya) and Ino explains her families abilities. The Chunnins are impressed. Ino introduced Sakura (Karai) next, and goes on to explain that she is the genjutsu expert of the group. Sakura blushes slightly and tells "Aaya" to stop embarrassing her. Ino answers that she doesn't have a big forehead for nothing. This gets the two of them bickering.

"Is anyone else with you?" Temari asks, slightly sweat dropping at Ino and Sakura's feud.

"Shikamaru is with us. Right now, he is currently information gathering in the back alleys of the town," Kurenai answered slightly put off by Ino and Sakura's bickering.

"He's here?" Temari thought to herself. She grinned inwardly. "Excellent!"

Suddenly, someone knocks on the door. They open it to find Shikamaru completely worn out and panting. Sakura and Ino ask if he ran all the way here.

"No," says Shikamaru. "I just had to deal with a Sound Spy I found. Also, I managed to get information from that spy of about 6 other spies from both the Sound and Cloud nations that will meet to exchange information in 7 days."

He then staggered into the room, and the others are horrified at his torn clothes.

"What happened?" Temari nearly yells out in concern.

Shikamaru then notices Temari and the Sand nins, grins at them, says hi, and then goes on to explain the fight.

"The Sound Nin used lots of Sound Waves to cut things, and I only just managed to dispose of him with a new technique I learned."

He then pulls out the Nin's clothing and headband.

"Kurenai-sensei, is it okay if I take the place of the Sound Nin while keeping up my street lookout?" Shikamaru asked.

"You will need some backup," Kurenai says "And Sakura and Ino already have fulltime roles to handle."

Temari talks with Kira and Hatari, and they agree that they will be Shikamaru's backup. Hatari says they have a week. Kira says that they will watch Shikamaru's back very closely.

"I also have some contacts on the street," saysTemari "Me and Shikamaru can watch them as well."

The Sand Shinobi look at him, and ask him if this is fine. He says with a grin that this will be kinda fun.

"What will you and the others do for one week Kurenai-sensei?" asks Shikamaru.

"We will continue the fake negotiations in order to get information from the mayor."

"Then," says Shikamaru "everyone good luck."

They all agree and get to work...

Kakashi's Group – Day 2; Day 4 of Naruto's ANBU Training

Kakashi's group is currently headed west to a spot between the border of the Rock and Leaf Nations. No one really did talk much, except when someone asked questions about the political affairs and the current state of the Sound nation. Kakashi explained to them the things that Kurenai explained to her team. They fell silent until Sasuke asked something that had been nagging him for a bit.

"Kakashi, how and where did you know that guy that met us the night we left?"

Shino and Lee looked up, apparently interested in what Kakashi had to say.

"That man is a very famous ANBU captain and one of the strongest three in history. Me, him, and Uchiha Itachi," Kakashi explained. "He goes by the name of Mad Dog Soonaga' being that Soonaga was always a nickname for him and he fights like a Mad Dog in combat and goes down as quickly as one."

Sasuke goes silent. Kakashi notices and just smiles.

"Hey Sasuke!" he said. "If you are worried about getting less training than Naruto, don't worry. He was my rival in the ANBU and we always fought to outdo the other. I have arranged with the Hokage to have us meet with another team and train in one of the most hostile environments possible."

All three Genins are apparently quite interested in this and ask Kakashi who the other team may be. Kakashi, however, remains silent as does not say anything, except to expect a surprise and some old faces.

"What sort of old faces?" asks Shino.

"Well," says Kakashi, "You will probably recognize them as soon as we get there. For all of you, and especially Lee and Sasuke, they are people that you have seen very recently."

All of the Genins are silent, pondering who Kakashi might be talking about.

"Hmm. Who have a seen recently?" thought Sasuke. "It couldn't be the Sound's Four since their dead nor could it be a Leaf team since they are all out on missions..."

"Seen recently, huh," thought Lee. "I bet they are strong! Think of me Gai-sensei, I will try my hardest!"

"Seen recently?" thought Shino. "He can't mean..."

"Ahhh!" Kakashi shouted, interrupting the thoughts of the Genins. "We are at our place of training!" The three Genins look ahead of them. In the distance there is a series of plateaus, and they seem to be heading right for an unusually large one. They wonder out loud what that place is.

"That plateau range up ahead is known as Leaf Highlands, and that particular plateau we are heading to is called the Plateau of Trail, Mt. Koltz." explained Kakashi. "The Plateau is about 5,000 feet high, and there is a 100 foot deep valley in the top of it complete with a hidden forest. There we will meet the other team and train in one of the most air-dense environments and also in one of the least air-dense environments. This training is to help with stamina, which will be essential when we head to take on the enemy." At this time, they arrive at the base of the plateau and find a really narrow trail. Kakashi takes a rope out of his pack about 20 feet long. "Here, we will tie this rope around us since this trail is extremely treacherous and narrow." The Genins tie the rope around themselves and with Kakashi in the lead, they begin to travel up the mountain. After about two hours of hard hiking, they reach the top and step down on to a plain slightly lower than the top of the mountain and look down into a valley that is covered in thick forest.

"Wow!!" says Lee.

Sasuke whistles in awe, and even Shino is impressed by raising his eyebrows a little.

"In the Jungle part," says Kakashi, "the humidity is so thick it feels like your breathing clouds. The moisture is so thick it does not affect the raised up area, here, where the air is so dry and thin that it hurts to breathe. In these two environments we will train for a week."

"Where is the other team?" asks Sasuke.

"They should be here...ahh! There they are!" exclaimed Kakashi.

The Genins looked around. They didn't see anyone and couldn't feel a thing. All they could feel was a slight wind that seemed to have picked up from nowhere. Dust kicks up from the raised up area where they are standing. As soon as it picks up, however, it stops and starts to settle. The Genins look around, hearing nothing but footsteps now. Suddenly, three figures right ahead of them come into view, their shapes only just discernable in the dust. The figures stop. For the next few seconds, no one moved. Then, a voice from the figures calls out.

"Hatake Kakashi, it has been awhile"

The dust is still settling as Kakashi grins.

"Yeah, it has been a bit of awhile. How are you, Baki?"

As soon as Kakashi finishes speaking, the dust settles to reveal Baki, Gaara, and a Sand Chunnin. The Genins are shocked to see them, but relax somewhat at what Baki said next.

"Alright, I suppose. I can see we are all going to get a good workout. You all know Gaara I suppose. The other one with us Hideyori, a Ninjutsu/Taijutsu expert. He is also good at tracking, since he was the one who found the body of the Kazekage after that incident."

"Hey," says Kakashi. "No hard feelings about that incident. Can I talk to you privately about something..."

As Baki and Kakashi talk, Gaara and Hideyori go and talk to the Genins. Sasuke and Shino are both nearly scared to death at seeing Gaara, but Lee, with no fear on his face and grinning, walks forward to greet the Sand Nins.

"Gaara, it has been awhile! How have you been?"

"Rock Lee..." Gaara says without any emotion or expression. Then, a grin goes on his face. "I have been much better than I have been in a while. This is Hideyori. He is a Ninjutsu/Taijutsu user who is probably a close match to you."

"Him?" asks Hideyori.

"He is the first person to actually land a blow on me," replied Gaara.

Hideyori was impressed with this, and he and Lee start talking till Gaara interupts them.

"I remember Uchiha Sasuke, and Sasuke, you seem to be doing much better, but I have not seen you before" he said look at Shino in a curious way.

By now, both Sasuke and Shino have relaxed a little after seeing how relaxed Lee was around Gaara. Shino then speaks up.

"My name is Shino. You seem a bit different from when we first saw you in the Chunnin Exams, but that is no matter."

"It is no big deal. It was just someone showed me how to really be strong." At this point Gaara walks up to Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke. I hope your doing alright."

"Yeah. Yeah, I am doing alright." replied Sasuke. "How are things with you?"

"They are okay. I am surprised that Uzumaki Naruto is not here."

"He has another mission right now," replied Sasuke, thinking about the masked ANBU, Kakashi's announcements, and Naruto's shocked face when he got his new training team. He grinned inwardly at that last part. At this point, Kakashi called out to them.

"Hey everyone! Gather around!" shouted Kakashi. When they did, he continued in a normal voice. "Based on the information Baki here and I exchanged, we will not need to head to our target for a week, so we have lots of time to train. We will start in the mornings from now on fighting in the forest, hit lunch, and in the afternoon train on the raised part of this valley; here. Periodically, we may have information come to us in the form of birds, so remember to keep a lookout. Baki and I will train together, and the you all can switch people different days." Baki speaks up at this point.

"Hideyori, from what Kakashi has told me about his team, after you fight each of them, train as much as possible with Shino and Lee. They can learn some Taijutsu styles from you and you could learn some from them. Gaara, I'm sure neither you or Sasuke would mind fighting the other in Taijutsu/Ninjutsu battles?"

Gaara looks at Sasuke with a grin. "Would you like to pick up were we left off at a later time?"

Sasuke grins at him. "Sure!"

Kakashi smiles at this point. "Well, that's everything. Since it's afternoon, let's start on the raised area here."

They each face the perspective opponent and take a fighting stance. They all trained and fought till the sun set...

End of Chapter 3.9. In Chapter 3.10, Naruto and his teammates are formally inducted as members of the ANBU. But to do that, each must confess one of their deepest secrets or pains. Can they survive? There will be some Naruto/Hinata interaction and the Kyubi will appear. Secrets, Shockers, and Stories all coming soon. Thank you. Come back for Chapter 3.10 – Induction, the Hardest part of ANBU Training!

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There are a few things I would like to point out:
1. I have been getting complaints about the format of the stories. I have started working on rewritting them into a more reader-friendly format such as the above chapter. They should be done by Christmas.
2. I don't mind complaints, but do not just outright insult me. It gives me no actual help in the story and the writting. How would you like it if you got reviews where people just insulted you?
3. I need some ideas on pairings other than Naruto/Hinata and Shikamaru/Temari.

The above being said, for anyone with an ounce of patience for me, I thank you. I promise I will revise the chapters in the past. Thank you everyone and Happy Halloween. Don't forget to go and vote on November 2 for those of you who can!!