A/N: I'm updating fast now, okay? I don't own Naruto, Masashi Kishimoto does.

Naruto: The Greatest Hero

Chapter Thirteen: Encounters

Naruto was in a bed, spread-eagled and still clad in his black pyjamas. He was currently in Kurenai's home, and he had a slight fever from the day before, after all, who would not catch a cold after standing so long in the rain the day before? Kurenai had resisted the cold, somehow, but Naruto was not as lucky or resistant from colds as her. Naruto sat up and looked around Kurenai's home, which was quite clean.

The furniture looked like it belonged to an old couple and there were several paintings that she had made herself hanging on her walls, but the one that intrigued Naruto the most was an unfinished painting set on a table meant especially for drawing and sketching that seemed like it contained an open field with flowers and a mountain range in the background. There was what seemed to be a person in the middle of the picture. Naruto could not make out what the gender of the person was.

'I see that you've gotten better, Naruto.' Kurenai had arrived, wearing her everyday clothing; a white sweater and a long skirt, and had worn a white headband in her hair.

'I don't see the point of keeping me as your prisoner after I sneeze once.'

'Better safe than sorry right? And I think that you like being my prisoner, don't you, Naru-kun?' Kurenai said and gave the young boy a smile as he turned slightly red.

Naruto did not utter a single word as Kurenai took a seat on the edge of the bed.

'Kakashi said that he'd come by later on to pick you up and go to training.' Kurenai said, brushing away a lock of her hair and making Naruto turned even redder.

'Oh yeah, did anyone get hurt during the fight, Kurenai-sensei? Zabuza-san? Haku?'

'Everyone is fine, Naruto. Everyone's all right, although Asuma got on the bad end of a bet, almost everyone's okay.' Kurenai said, getting herself into a more comfortable position on the bed, 'Shikamaru's still in the hospital, but he's healing.'

'What about Lee?' Naruto asked the red-eyed woman, who fought back a smirk.

'Other than a broken arm and some loss of pride, he's fine.' the mention of Lee brought Kurenai to the thoughts of what had happened in the forest; what Lee had told her gave her the scare of her life, 'Naruto, how did you defeat that Gaara?'

'I didn't.' Naruto said, rubbing the backof his neck. Kurenai raising an eyebrow, 'Okay, I had a little hand in defeating him, but the thanks goes to Gama-Oyabin and Mitojin-san.' Naruto then realised that Kurenai did not know who they were.

'Naruto, who are those two that you just mentioned?' Kurenai asked.

'Oh, I forgot to mention, didn't I?' Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

'Forgot to mention what?' Kurenai raised one of her eyebrows once more.

'Mitojin-san and Gama-Oyabin are my summons.' Naruto said carefully; she smiled.

'Naruto, who taught you how to summon in the first place?' Kurenai questioned.

'I suppose that you've been filled in by Orochimaru-sama's info right?' Naruto said and Kurenai gave the blonde a nod of acknowledgement, 'He gave me my first contract. The contract of the Fire Snakes; the one I used to summon Mitojin, the King of the Fire Snakes.' Kurenai's face turned into a serious look as she heard this.

'You're saying that there is another Summoning Contract that you have, Naruto?'

'Yes. Another person taught it to me over the month that I trained by myself.'

'Who was the person that gave you the other contract, Naruto?'

'His name was Jiraiya.' Kurenai nodded in understanding, and knowing Jiraiya, she guessed what Naruto's second contract was, 'He called himself the Gama-sennin.'

'So you have the Summoning Contract of two different animals, Naruto?'

'Yeah, you can say that. But,' Kurenai listened even more intently, 'both of the contracts are now bound to me by another contract; the Dual Contract.'

Kurenai almost gasped at the mention of the Dual Contract. It was supposedly one of the more brilliant inventions of the late Sandaime Hokage, being able to combine the Summoning Contracts of two animal tribes into one new contract. There weren't many people that used the Dual Contract, as it was hard enough for the ninja that owned the contract to get the tribes to get their summons in to truce.

The only people, to Kurenai's knowledge, that held the Dual Contracts, were Kakashi; the person that Naruto had mentioned before, Jiraiya and the late Yondaime Hokage. And now, added to that small list was the blonde before her; Naruto.

'You've come a long way.' Kurenai began, genuinely smiling at the boy before her.

'Yeah, I have.' Naruto said, giving a brief nod in Kurenai's direction.

'But you still have quite a journey to finish.' Kurenai finished, exiting the room.

Naruto walked down one of the emptier streets of Konoha, feeling much better after staying at Kurenai's place for the last day. It had just finished raining again, and Naruto was once again back on track. The death of the Hokage was a critical loss to Konoha, as was the depletion of ninjas available for mission. The council ran things around for the moment, feeling the pressure upon them, running ninjas in the late Sandaime's place. Most of the Genin teams around the village were having a vacation from their Jounin Instructors for the moment. There was a particular reason.

The reason was because of the depletion in forces, the ninjas of Konoha had to be reinforced by the best they had at the moment, and that meant that the ninjas of Konoha had to take several teams away from their Jounin Instructors.

Kurenai and Kakashi were part of the ninjas that had to attend to their duties.

'Damn it, I'm so bored; Kakashi-niisan's out on duty, Haku and Zabuza-san are out on patrol by the border, Shikamaru's still in the hospital, and Kiba's training with his family; this totally bites!' Naruto complained as he kicked pebble with his foot.

The pebble flew off the ground from the force and into mid-air, where it was caught by a smirking Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the presence of the boy.

'Hey there, Sasuke.' Naruto greeted out of good nature; Sasuke just kept smirking.

'Naruto,' Sasuke greeted in return, dropping the pebble to the ground.

Naruto and Sasuke bored their eyes into each other, the tense air around them being so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Sasuke was flexing his hands, building up his ability to react to whatever Naruto would do. Naruto still had his hands in his pockets, his expression showing that he did not care for anything for the moment other then taking a rest under a tree or in his bed. Sasuke frowned more at the blonde.

'I want a rematch with you.' Sasuke said; his smirk disappeared and left no trace.

'I'm sorry, Sasuke, but I'm not in the mood to fight with you for the moment.' Naruto said, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully; Sasuke scowled, 'But I am in the mood for some food, if you care to join me. You pay for your own meal, of course.'

Sasuke's stomach instantly let out a loud growl and the brunette turned red.

'Ah, so you're hungry too.' Naruto's face turned into a mix of laziness and cheerfulness as he turned on his hell and began to walk away from Sasuke.

'Where are you going?' Sasuke questioned; the tone of anger in his voice.

'To get something to eat, of course.' Naruto said, before resuming walking away.

'Don't look down on me!' Sasuke cried as he charged at Naruto, who sidestepped the assault on his back and reappeared sticking to the wall of a shop with his chakra.

'So you're really serious about a fight, aren't you, Sasuke?' Naruto asked.

'I am an Uchiha.' Sasuke said seriously, getting himself into a fighting stance.

'You are the survivor of a Clan of Konoha; the Almighty prodigy of the Clan that held in their eyes the powerful bloodline Sharingan.' Naruto said, his tone one of a wise man telling a fact to a stubborn learner, 'I also found out about the hidden Jutsu, of should I say; Genjutsu, that comes with the Bloodline Limit, if achieved in its perfect and true form; Mangekyou Sharingan.' Sasuke seemed to flinch at this, 'The Genjutsu is known as Tsukiyomi, possibly the most deadly Genjutsu in existence.'

'Where did you find out all this?' Sasuke questioned, his eyes narrowing dangerously as Naruto did the same before leaping off the wall to the ground.

'I have my sources, and that's all you need to-' Naruto's eyes snapped open.

With reflexes equal to those of the higher-ranked Jounins, Naruto threw two projectiles; two kunais, to be exact, at what looked like a shadow on a wall. The two projectiles stopped in mid-air, much to the surprise of Sasuke.

'Man, I thought that my presence was completely masked.' Naruto recognized the voice, and suddenly, a white-haired Sannin came into view, appearing out of thin air.

Jiraiya threw the two kunais back to their owner, who caught them effortlessly.

'Hey, Ero-sennin.' Naruto greeted; it took most of the Sannin's willpower to not perform a high-damaging Jutsu to teach the boy a lesson he would not forget.

'Nice to see you here, Naruto.' Jiraiya said, walking closer to the two boys before turning to face Sasuke, who had a scowl on his face, 'And who might you be?'

'Uchiha Sasuke.' the brunette said, his scowl not leaving his face.

This boy; his eyes wreak of vengeance, Jiraiya thought, peering at Sasuke.

'So what are you doing in this part of town, Ero-sennin?' Naruto asked.

'Stop calling me that.' Jiraiya gave a glare to Naruto, who grinned in response.

'Could you please introduce yourself before we proceed any further?'

Jiraiya turned to the master of the voice, Sasuke, and for one second, Naruto saw that Jiraiya had known something about Sasuke that he did not.

And the blonde would bet his money that it had to do with the Uchiha Clan.

'I am the manliest of men, the essence of masculinity, the one all men look up to from all over the Five Shinobi Countries; the Toad Master and Legendary Ladies' Man, Jiraiya!' Jiraiya said smugly, striking a pose with his chin and jawline.

Sasuke's lipped began to twitch and Naruto could see that the Uchiha Clan survivor was on the verge of laughing his heart out. And the brunette would have, if it was not for the fact that he had his reputation of one that showed an emotion of ice.

'Ero-sennin, if you do that dance again, I will kill you.' Naruto threatened.

'And what is wrong with my dynamic dance? I don't see you having a dynamic act of any sort to capture the attention of your adoring fans!' Jiraiya retorted.

'That is because I don't have any adoring fans. Sasuke does, though.' Naruto pointed his thumb towards Sasuke, who merely scowled at the mentioning of him.

'Don't bring me into your conversation, Uzumaki.' Sasuke hissed at the blonde.

'Seriously though, don't you avoid them on an everyday basis?' Naruto questioned.

Sasuke did not bother to answer the question that had been asked. Instead, he walked away from the two of them, his hands in his pockets.

Once Sasuke was out of earshot, Naruto and Jiraiya took their own stroll down the road. Naruto knew that there was a reason that the Sannin had been in the area.

'So what are you doing here, Ero-sennin? You're not the type of person that would just use a Jutsu to hide while trailing me throughout my walk.' Naruto said.

'Straight to the point, aren't you?' Jiraiya said, slightly smirking at his words before stopping in his tracks and went on to face Naruto, 'How would you feel about an S-ranked mission to search for the successor to the Hokage title?'

At the Seventh Konoha outpost, several Jounins were keeping watch. After the invasion by Akuma's forces, they had to be more vigilant than they ever were, since their leader had perished from the attack. They were all the more determined not to let the same incident occur twice. Out of the six Jounins that were at the outpost, one was out carrying out a check of the perimeter. The remaining five were at their posts.

Two of the Jounins were side by side, watching themselves and their surroundings.

'Don't you think that it's strange?' one of the Jounin's, a grey-haired man questioned, looking towards another Jounin that had an eye patch above his right eye.

'You're getting that strange feeling again, aren't you, Kuroba?' he sighed.

'No, it's not that, Huraki.' Kuroba replied, watching his surroundings, slightly embarrassed from what he had just said, 'It's just that with all of the hubbub going in, out and around Konoha, I just don't feel really sure about our security.'

'We're ninjas, Kuroba.' Huraki said, taking out a cigarette from one of his pockets of his utility vest, 'We're always under the threat of death. Hell, we don't even know when we'll die.' Huraki lit his cigarette with a lighter and smirked, 'Although, I do doubt that I will live long enough to die at the hands of an enemy. I'll probably get cancer and die before I get killed on a mission or an assignment.'

This seemed to lighten up the mood a bit, with Kuroba slightly grinning.

'What about you, Kuroba? I heard that you're an uncle now.' Huraki said.

'Yeah, my sister just gave birth to a baby girl, they're calling her Jun.' Kuroba said.

'Well I'll be;' Huraki puffed on his cigarette before turning to Kuroba, 'Taiju-san must have been really disappointed to get a girl and not a boy.'

'My brother-in-law was quite happy, actually. He said that it didn't matter if it was a boy or a girl; he just wanted a kid.' Kuroba smiled as he looked to the sky.

Suddenly, moisture was felt all around the Jounins. There was a mist forming all around them. Kuroba immediately drew a kunai, while Huraki turned to the outpost.

'Utada! Murashi! Tajiri!' Huraki immediately called out, his three fellow Jounin peers immediately rushing to him, all of them feeling conscious of the thickening mist.

'What in the world is this mist?' one of the Jounins questioned, feeling a flow.

'There's something very wrong with this mist. It feels like there's-'

The Jounin did not finish his sentence, as his body was immediately cleaved in half by what looked like a sword. Blood splashed everywhere as the remaining four huddled together, their backs towards each other as they searched for their enemy.

'Tajiri is already dead; what are we going to do!' one Jounin panicked.

'We can't sense the enemy's chakra signature; where in the blazes are they?'

A scream was heard as and sound of metal meeting flesh came with it. Another Jounin was dead on the ground with a deep slit in the throat. The three remaining Jounin gritted their teeth as they moved themselves to another position.

'The enemy must be a Mist Nin; I've seen this Jutsu before.' Huraki said.

'Why can't we trace their chakra signature? This level of compression is at the same level as the Sannin!' Murashi questioned, feeling frightened at thoughts of such a foe.

More blood was spilt as the another scream filled the air. Murashi lay dead on the ground, a kunai thrusted deep into his head. Kuroba's eyes widened in fear as he saw the blood of his fallen comrade cover the ground. Huraki gritted his teeth.

'Kuroba, don't do anything rash! We don't even know who the enemy is yet!'

'Damn, where the hell are they!' Kuroba sounded, his voice one of much fear.

'Kuroba, don't show fear; calm yourself down!' Huraki ordered.

Suddenly, Huraki saw his foe. A blade that looked like it was halfway covered in bandages was brought down on him and he fell to the ground; dead. The fate was the same for Kuroba; he was stabbed in the neck by a kunai, the eyes of his form seeing only what looked like black cloaks and red clouds before death took him.

The mist cleared, and the form of two people in black cloaks with high collars decorated with red clouds and hats pulled so low that it hid their eyes were able to be seen with human eyes. One of them had a sword that was incredibly huge, and instead of a normal blade, it had what looked like scales all over it. The other person was shorter than the sword-wielding one, and around him radiated an ice-cold feeling.

'We have a large mess on our hands here, Kisame.' the shorter one said, the deathly-cold voice matching the aura that he emanated, 'Your moves stood out too much. We did not come here to start a war. Only to find what we want.'

Hoshigaki Kisame smirked under his cloak and hat before walking past Itachi.

'Remember not to do that while we're in Konoha; we don't want any attention.'

'What's wrong with the attention? That would only leave more people to kill.' Kisame smirked under his cloak and hat once more, remembering an incident that occurred to him almost two months before, 'Besides, I would really like to meet that Genin that hit me once more; revenge is the only thing that tastes as sweet as victory.'

Naruto sat next to Jiraiya in a shop that sold sake and dango, having finished listening to what the Sannin had just explained to him. Naruto could not believe his ears.

'So you're asking me to follow you and Orochimaru-sama to search for another Sannin called Tsunade for her to take the place of the old man?' Naruto questioned, raising an eyebrow at Jiraiya, who merely gave a nod and a grin, 'Not interested.'

'What!' Jiraiya exclaimed, his cry making Naruto stuff his ears with his two index fingers. Jiraiya stood up from hi seat, trying to salvage the situation, 'Why!'

'I told you; I'm not interested in the least.' Naruto said, rubbing his neck, 'Why am I going to go around the Five Shinobi Countries looking for someone who has not been seen by anyone in Konoha for the last fifteen to twenty years? I'm sorry, but if you want to find someone to accompany you on this mission, you might want to try someone who's either in the Chuunin or Jounin ranks. I'm going to stay here.'

'So you're saying that you're in no way interested in joining our search party?'

'No. I don't have anything to gain from a search, other than; of course, an S-ranked mission to be added to my Mission History.' Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

'Naruto, don't you want to become Hokage?' Jiraiya said seriously; Naruto could just see where the conversation was going, and it was not in his favour, 'A Hokage does what he knows is the best for the village. He will do his duty as protector and shadow of the village, overlooking all those under his charge. If you really want to become Hokage, Naruto; you will accept this mission for the village's benefit.'

Naruto was cornered; if he did not take the mission, he would be looked at as a coward that only thought about himself, but if he took the mission, there would be a high chance of him not being able to return. After all, the places that they had to look were all scattered about and who knew how long it would take to search for her?

'I'll do it; but only because you used my words against me.'

'Good, then.' Jiraiya gave a cheerful smile to Naruto, who resumed his droopy expression before turning back to the chef, who was preparing a meal, 'One more!'

'Sure thing, sir!' the short and stout chef replied, grinning as he prepared another round of sake for Jiraiya, before seeing someone come in, 'Welcome!'

'Ah, Good Day, Nikaga-san.' Naruto recognized the owner of the voice.

Naruto turned around to see that the person that had just come into the store was Kakashi, clad in his normal Jounin Uniform. He saw Naruto and gave another smile under his facemask and took a seat next to his little brother.

'Hello, Naruto.' Kakashi greeted the blonde Genin, who gave a lazy nod.

'Kakashi, the little guy's agreed.' Jiraiya said to the Jounin, who nodded.

'I knew that Naruto would. He's the type that wouldn't back down, eh?'

Naruto realised the hidden conversation that took place behind their words.

'Kakashi-niisan, were you the one that recommended me taking the mission?'

'Not really, Naruto.' Kakashi said, rubbing his jaw thoughtfully, 'Jiraiya-sama just came to me for permission to take you away for a period of time. I agreed, of course.'

'What do you mean you agreed? I don't want to leave Konoha!'

'Well, you agreed to follow him too, didn't you, Naruto?' Kakashi said cheerfully as his little brother scowled at him, he continued, 'And don't worry, it'll be worthwhile. Just like the time when you trained with him before the Chuunin Exams.'

'Kakashi-san, here's the order that Anko-san wanted just now. She's paid for it.'

Kakashi nodded and took the bag from the chef before bidding his brother farewell and went onwards to drop off his delivery of dango and sake at Anko's apartment, where the upbeat and shapely woman stayed. He did not stay there long, though, since every time he had visited Anko, there was always something eerie about her place. He then went off to meet Kurenai and Asuma at another food stand in the village.

Or in particular, another shop that sold sake and some dango, although this place was much bigger than the one he had been to a moment ago, with its big signboard.

Kakashi then saw Sarutobi Asuma and Yuuhi Kurenai walking down the road, the red-eyes woman still clad in her Jounin Uniform, as was Asuma.

'Hey there, Asuma; Kurenai,' Kakashi greeted cheerfully before deciding to tease Kurenai for fun, 'Are you two out on a date? You know, Kurenai, Naruto would not like that very much; after all, he said that he would love you and only you, neh?'

'Shut up, Kakashi.' Kurenai said, slightly turning red before turning away from him.

'Kurenai; you like Naruto? Doesn't that mean you're a pedophile?' Asuma went on.

Kurenai's killing intent turned so strong that Asuma almost wet his pants in that moment. Kakashi gave a friendly laugh and a wave indicating that he was only joking.

'So, would you guys like to have some lunch with me, since Naruto's going away?'

Kakashi suddenly felt an amount of chakra seep out from behind him from the food stand that was behind him. It was a familiar flow, one that Kakashi had felt before.

As did Kurenai. She frowned when she felt the power in the chakra flow.

It was the same kind of chakra flow that she had felt in Wave Country.

In the open food stand, stood two figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds.

'Maybe we should have some food another time, Kakashi.' Kurenai said seriously.

'Yeah, well; I was not that hungry anyway.' Kakashi waved it off before turning around to face the source of the chakra that had been released a moment ago.

He turned, and the table where the two figures were was empty, their food was still warm and their drinks were still letting out some steam. Kakashi frowned, knowing that something unfortunate was about to happen, and somehow, he felt that it would involve Naruto in one way or another. The Jounin sighed before turning back to Kurenai and Asuma, who had already disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

I guess I better get going too, don't want them to have all the fun, Kakashi thought.

The two figures were walking alongside a man-made river of Konoha, both of the men seemed to be taking their time as they walked alongside the river's pathway of cement. Suddenly, they stopped in their tracks, sensing another presence other than themselves. The taller man, Kisame, smirked at the thought of a "reunion".

'It seems that Fate really does not know when to quit.' the voice of Asuma came.

Asuma and Kurenai were facing the backs of the two ninjas. Kurenai knew who the taller ninja was, having fought against him several weeks before in Wave Country.

'When we're just in the middle of recovering from one crisis, another one pops up.'

A moment of tense silence passed. Then, the shorter one of the two men looked up from his hat and slightly lifted it, revealing a pair of blood-red eyes with three comma-like objects around its crimson iris. Kurenai's eyes widened as her friend Asuma followed suit, immediately recognizing who the man was.

'You are…' Asuma began, and could not find the words to finish his sentence.

The man fully lifted his hat, revealing his face. He was a taller replica of Uchiha Sasuke, except for the fact that his eyes seemed to cross in deeper than the Genin and there were lines developed by his eternal frown reaching a quarter-way to his cheek.

'Who would have thought that you'd still come back after what you did; Uchiha Itachi.' Asuma growled, and followed it up with a grimace; Kurenai frowned deeper.

'Asuma-san; Kurenai-san; it's nice to see you two after such a long time.'

'Who would have thought that I'd meet the same pretty lady once again?'

The taller of the two then took off his hat, revealing pale blue skin and small eyes, along with a shark-like appearance and gravity-defying sea-blue hair.

Kurenai's eyes turned a glare upon Kisame, who merely grinned at her reaction.

She remembered what this ninja had done to her in Wave Country.

'I've met the lady before, Itachi. She was the one with that brat.' Kisame said.

Itachi chuckled at the mention of the incident that had happened to Kisame several weeks ago. He was the one who had saved the sword-wielding ninja by knocking out the boy that looked similar to Kakashi in so many ways, save for the blonde hair.

'Indeed, Kisame; wasn't she the teacher to the one that wounded you?'

'Tch; that was luck. I underestimated my enemy. But don't expect me to do that again.' Kisame kept grinning in a shark-like way, 'Besides, she might be a pedophile.'

Asuma tried very hard not laugh at the joke of Kisame's,while Kurenai just turned red from anger and embarrassment. Itachi's chuckle was heard even more.

'Indeed; what twenty-five year-old woman would be with a twelve-year old?'

Kurenai turned even redder from the mention of Naruto; Asuma kept fighting the urge to chuckle at the jokes that the two nukenins were making at Kurenai's expense.

'Shut up; we're not going to let you leave the village without a fight!'

Kurenai's words were enough to snap the Konoha Jounin out of his unseriousness.

'Looks like it can't be helped.' Kisame rested his blade on his shoulder.

A moment of what seemed like an eternity passed, as the two Konoha ninjas and the two nukenins stared each other down and sized up their strengths. The sound of a straw hat floating away with the wind was heard, and a fight began.

Kisame slammed his sword hard towards Asuma, who immediately drew out his two specialized kunais, that were more like knives than anything else, with handles that were very much like fisticuffs, that were suited for Taijutsu.

The attack by Kisame was parried, but Asuma was no short of amazed by the power that Kisame had, and that was only the edge of his blade. Kurenai backed off for a moment and took the opportunity to throw several shurikens at Kisame.

'Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!' Kurenai called out, multiplying her shurikens.

Immediately, Itachi countered Kurenai's Jutsu by applying the same Jutsu to his kunais; the projectiles immediately hiteach other and spun in various directions, breaking up the four ninjas. Kurenai stood ten feet away from Itachi, while Asuma had already begun his assault once more against Kisame.

'For an old guy, you sure can hold your own!' Kisame parried a blow from Asuma.

'Tch; everyone thinks that I'm old. But my skills are still one of the best!'

Asuma pushed Kisame back with his own force, as Kisame brought his sword back down again. The bearded Jounin blocked the blade, buy once again, Kisame used his power to bring his blade down closer, as it inched closer to Asuma's shoulder.

Where does he get his strength from; this is only the edge of the sword, he thought.

The sword finally rested itself on the right shoulder; Kisame smirked.

'My sword Samehada;' Kisame's eyes narrowed and his lips turned into a grin. He pulled upon his blade, and tore a rough cut upon Asuma's shoulder, making the Jounin stagger backwards, clutching his wound, 'is not to cut, but to shave!'

Asuma gritted his teeth in pain and frustration as he clutched his wound.

In the battle between Kurenai and Itachi, Kurenai had not managed to land even a single hit upon her opponent as Itachi only attempted to dodge her attacks.

'Looks like Asuma-san cannot last any longer against Kisame.' Itachi stated.

'Asuma can hold his own in a battle; Itachi.' she said, drawing out another kunai.

'It seems so, but the time for your loss is just about now.' Itachi stated.

Kurenai frowned and began to perform several more handseals.

Suddenly, Itachi found himself bound to a tree by branches as thick as arms. His face did not betray any emotion as he looked upwards, where Kurenai had appeared, coming out from the bark of the tree. Itachi still did not show any emotion.

'This is your end, Itachi!' she brought down her kunai; he smirked.

Kurenai found herself in Itachi's position, bound to the tree thick branches.

'That level of Genjutsu, although impressive, will not work against me.'

When did he do this? This is a Genjutsu Counter, she thought, panicking.

He drew out an extra large kunai and came charging at her as she bit her lip to release herself from the illusion. It worked; she was free just in time, and moved backwards. She was not able to avoid the blow fully, though, as a cut had found its mark across her stomach, although it was not very deep.

Before she could move another inch, a kick was delivered to her, sending her flying over the railing and into the river in pain. Using her chakra, she kept herself from going underwater by applying chakra to her two feet and got up, clutching her wound.

'Kurenai!' Asuma called out, worried for his friend and fellow Jounin.

'Look this way; your opponent is me, not Itachi.' Kisame said.

Asuma gritted his teeth at his helplessness in the situation as he looked at Kisame.

Kurenai turned around and saw that Uchiha Itachi was before her, his face looking as impassive as ever, and his red eyes, the Sharingan, baring its fangs.

'That was a good effort, Kurenai-san, but this fight is over.' Itachi said.

Itachi disappeared from sight and reappeared behind her, his kunai was about to find a mark in her head. She closed her eyes, appreciating that Itachi had made her death at least quick. She remembered all the good times she had, with Kakashi; with Naruto.

With everyone. She braced herself for death, waiting for it to take her.

Her eyes were closed, and she had not felt the blade pierce her. Strangely enough, she felt another presence. Two new presences in the area. She opened her eyes.

'That's no way to treat a lady.' a voice that was so familiar to her was heard.

Before her was Uzumaki Naruto, blocking the attack of Uzumaki Naruto with the collapsed form of his Fuuma Shuriken, his eyes focused intently into Itachi's eyes.

'Naruto!' Kurenai cried from joy, relief and thanks at her saviour.

Itachi, however, smirked; having known the identity of the newcomer. It was the same Genin that he had knocked out in his attempt at rescuing Kisame from his demise. Itachi felt more force on the blade of his kunai, and he leapt away.

Meanwhile, Hoshigaki Kisame was surprised to see a familiar face at the scene.

'I didn't think that I'd ever be saying this again; but thanks, Kakashi!'

'Don't worry about it, Asuma. I'm more than happy to help, after all, that's what friends do for each other, right? And anyway,' he turned to face Kisame, 'I have a score to settle with this guy. So you just relax.' Asuma grinned.

'You were that ninja that I knocked into the river; Hatake Kakashi.' Kisame said.

'Ah, so you remember me? But rest assured, I've gotten stronger since last time.'

'Let's just see about that!' Kisame began to perform several handseals, glaring.

'Suiton: Suikoudan no Jutsu!' both Kisame and Kakashi shouted in unison.

Two monstrous blasts of water came out of the river and headed towards each other, instantly cancelling one another out and splashing the three ninjas on the pathway.

'Incredible; he performed the same number of seals within a matter of seconds!'

Meanwhile, Itachi was smirking and chuckiling as he stood before his opponent.

'We've been looking for you for so long, Naruto-kun.' Itachi said, lowering his weapon and looking directly at Naruto, 'Come with us; to our organization.'

'Organization?' Naruto questioned, lowering down his own collapsed weapon, before grinning under his facemask and putting his Fuuma Shuriken into its fully open form, and performing several one-handed seals, 'What organization?'

'It's not wise to talk about it here, Naruto-kun, but if you come with us,'

'I'm not really interested in whatever stuff that you're selling,' Naruto drew his foot back and did the same to the hand that was holding his Fuuma Shuriken, 'But you've hurt a person that I really care about, and that's enough of a reason for me to kill you.'

There was silence for a moment, and the eyes of the Uchiha narrowed.

'Then, I guess that I will have to take you in by force.' Itachi said.

There was suddenly another figure leaping out of the water, grabbing Kurenai and leading her away. It was Kakashi, or a Kage Bunshin of him; she did not know.

Her mind was only focused on Naruto and his fate, battling against Uchiha Itachi.

The man that had murdered his own clan to test his strength.

'Let's go then; Uchiha!' Naruto disappeared from sight, much to Itachi's surprise.

Itachi's experience told him to look behind him, and he saw Naruto spinning and threw his Fuuma Shuriken towards him, which he easily dodged.

Naruto grinned as he pulled back on the string that was attached the Fuuma Shuriken, making it head back towards the Uchiha. Itachi caught the blade of the Fuuma Shuriken with ease, and saw Naruto perform a number of handseals at such speed that Itachi's Sharingan barely caught up with its movements.

'Katon: Karyuu Endan!' Naruto breathed out white-hot dragon flames at him.

Itachi immediately performed the seals required for the Kage Nunshin no Jutsu, and his clone took his place, getting burned by the flames instead of him.

'Behind you, Uchiha!' Naruto called out, coming at Itachi from behind him.

This speed; the reports never showed this kind of skill, Itachi thought.

A kick was directly registered to Itachi's left cheek, and it sent him flying. Using his chakra, Itachi stuck himself back to the water, spitting out some blood.

Kakashi, even though he was continuing his fight was Kisame, stopped to watch the battle upon the river, and it seemed that Kisame was watching as well.

'Kakashi, is that really Naruto? What did you do to him?' Asuma stood, gaping.

'I didn't do anything.' Kakashi silently thought about Jiraiya as he watched Naruto.

Naruto did not give a chance for Itachi to recover from his previous blow and sent the Uchiha flying with a kick to his jaw. Once he was in the air, Itachi performed several handseals at a speed almost equal to Naruto's.

'Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!' a gigantic fireball came crashing down upon Naruto.

Steam was seen rising up from the river water that had now turned incredibly hot.

There was no trace of Naruto. Itachi then bent downwards, sensing Naruto's presence behind him and making him miss the kick that he had aimed.

Itachi countered the move that he had dodged by registering a blow of his kick at Naruto's stomach, sending Naruto flying as Itachi had did before.

Naruto stood several meters away from Itachi, performing several more handseals at a rapid pace. Itachi, his Sharingan flaring, copied what Naruto had done.

'Suiton: Suiryuudan no Jutsu!' both of them called out, summoning forth large serpent-like creatures made of water, dragons, to attack their opponent.

The two dragons flew upwards and bit and crashed into each other until Itachi's dragon crashed into the neck of Naruto's dragon, cancelling it out.

Below the two dragon's forms, Naruto and Itachi stood, their weapons loacked in an incredible match of strength. Naruto's kunai against Itachi's kunai.

What is this; this boy is not the same to the information we received, Itachi thought.

Itachi pushed back Naruto, who threw a barrage of kunais at the brunette,

Itachi immediately disappeared in a whirl of leaves and Naruto's senses took him to see that the Uchiha was beside him, or so he thought.

'Bakuretsu Kage Bunshin.' he heard Itachi say before blowing up.

Kakashi's eyes widened as he watched the attack by Itachi take its effect. Naruto was thrown across the water by the force of the explosion, his right arm was injuredand his head had a shallow cut. Itachi reappeared before Naruto, several feet away from him, with the same emotionless mask on his face.

'I am offering you one last chance to come with us quietly, Naruto-kun.'

Naruto staggered slowly to get up, apparently grinning under his facemask.

'My answer, Uchiha-san;' Naruto began, 'is the same: no.'

Itachi then felt anther presence behind him and bent downwards to avoid another attack by Naruto, this time by a Kage Bunshin that he had created.

Itachi did not see the true attack come from Naruto's direction. A kunai came whizzing past his face, cutting the other side of his cheek.

Naruto then began to perform a number of handseals, which Itachi responded to by performing his own set of handseals Itachi threw his head back.

'Katon: Ryuuka no Jutsu!' Itachi called out, breathing out a flame-shaped dragon.

'Raiton: Raitoradan no Jutsu!' Naruto called forth a tiger made of lightning.

The two attacks met, and another explosion ensued, along with a flash of light.

Naruto watched the steam clear, and the first things he saw were the eyes of the Sharingan, or in his thoughts; its ultimate form: Mangekyou Sharingan.

Naruto saw the world around him grow black, and the next thing he knew was that he was caught in a world that was not his own. The colours all around him were in negative affect. he was now held to a cross, and Itachi was before him, with a sword.

'Welcome to the world of Tsukyomi; where space and time are under my control.'

'So this is the famous Tsukiyomi, huh?' Naruto stated under his facemask.

'You have forced me to use this Jutsu on you; we need you for our cause.' Itachi then pointed his sword towards Naruto, who showed no emotion, 'Now, for the next forty-eight hours you shall be stabbed repeatedly with this sword.'

Naruto then rememebered the key to escape from a Genjutsu; it was to stop the flow of chakra of his body. But the Tsukiyomi was the ultimate Genjutsu; it casted its target into a coma after having suffered from the Jutsu's affects.

That meant that there was no escape from this trap.

But Naruto knew a way to get out of this mess; the power of the Kyuubi.

'Itachi; do you think the target of whatever organization would aim for me if I weren't strong?' Naruto said, and a red light suddenly engulfed him.

Red flames erupted from all around Naruto's body, and with the chakra, Itachi, for the first time, saw fear. With the chakra, came the features of the kyuubi, looking so deadly and so ghostly in red flames. His world around him was immediately shattering, and Naruto was back in the real world, along with Itachi.

Naruto's head began to spin as he surveyed Itachi, who began to vomit into the water, breathing extremely hard. It was pure logic; Itachi had felt the red chakra of the Kyuubi, and he, not having the Four Season Seal upon him, could not handle the amount of strength that the chakra emanated.

Immediately, Kisame came to Itachi's side and put an arm around his partner, who looked like he was about to lose consciousness, as was Naruto, who was also panting.

'We will meet again, Uzumaki Naruto. And next time, I shall be prepared.'

Kisame and Itachi vanished in a whirl of leaves, leaving Kakashi and the rest recovering from what had just occurred. Naruto struggled to get up from his position, having used an enormous amount of chakra already; almost all of it.

'Naruto, are you alright!' the voice of Jiraiya came, rushing towards Naruto and the Jounins; Naruto grinned weakly at the late arrival of the Sannin.

Behind him were Zabuza and Gai, and both of them had panicked and serious looks on their faces. Gai looked around to find a trace of the enemy.

'Where is he? Where is Itachi?' Gai questioned, looking around to find him.

'What in the world happened here?' Zabuza questioned, looking around.

'Naruto happened; he got into a fight with Itachi. They ended in a stalemate.'

'WHAT!' Gai was disbelieving his ears, hearing what Kakahsi had just said.

Once they had Naruto back on the walkway, Asuma and Kakashi explained everything to Jiraiya and the two other Jounin, who stood listening and disbelieving. Jiraiya's jaw took more than several minutes to get back into its rightful position.

'This kid; he really drove of the Uchiha Itachi.' Jiraiya repeated.

'Yeah, I'm surprised, too.' Kakashi said, slightly smiling at Naruto's achievements.

'Well I'll be; so the brat really has gotten stronger.' Zabuza smirked.

Naruto was resting on Kurenai's lap, barely keeping his eyes open. His energy had taken its toll. There was just too much planning and fighting going on when he went against Itachi.

'Naruto,' Kurenai said sincerely, watching the boy on her lap.

'Yeah?'

'Thank you for saving me.'

The present males were forgotten, but they observed what was going on. Jiraiya grinned as he took out a notepad and a pencil, only to have them broken, surprisingly, by Kakashi. He defintitely fif not want to spoil this moment.

'I was saving this for when you became a Chuunin, but this looks like the best time for it. You deserve it, Naruto.' Kurenai finished.

She bent her head downwards; Naruto could see her red eyes flashing sincerely at him. She bent lower; the males kept their eyes focused on Naruto and Kurenai.

'Kurenai-san…'

Neruto then felt the warm taste of Kurenai's lips upon his and her tongue sliding into his mouth; he loved it. If fighting Itachi was worth anything, it was this.

Kakashi sighed as the other males looked on with envy at Naruto.

'Pedophile...' Asuma said, slightly snickering, only to be knocked away by Gai.