A/N: Yeah, another chapter of A Ninja's Tale. Can you imagine? Prolly not. Anyway. we're two chapters short of the catastrophic ending. Will I beg for reviews? Maybe later.

Disclaimer: No money is made from this story. I'm simply ripping off the awesome characters of Masashi Kishimoto for my personal amusement. All credits go to him, except for the plot—which, for the sake of decency, should not be credited to anyone.

References: None to my knowledge. If you spot something, let me know. Leave it in a -coughs- review. Yeah, shameless plug.

Summary: Sasuke plays super-ninja-spy to get the goods on Naruto; Kiba patches things up with Hinata.

---Chapter 4---
Down with the Cretinous Duo!

"Lee! Lee!" Tenten called out to her unconscious teammate as she shook him vigorously. "Wake up," she hollered in his ear.

"Huh? Tenten?" Half-awake, Lee languidly inquired still shook-up by the sudden thrashing he received from his friend, Sasuke.

"No, it's the Pope, idiot. Get up!"

Lee's world was spinning uncontrollably—courtesy of the Uchiha prodigy—but Tenten's constant screeching pulled the young Genin back to reality. Looking up, his female comrade was kneeling over him. Eying her up, he noticed someone standing over her. Condescending, aloof, flashing a self-satisfied smirk, Neji cleared his throat. "Heh, still making a fool of yourself?"

Maybe it was Tenten's generic laugh following the comment or Neji taking a break from being disinterested to dish some scathing remarks, but something in Lee was shaken—not stirred. Humiliated, he dusted himself off, somewhat frustrated to have been so easily duped. Getting duped by Naruto was surely considered the bottom of the proverbial barrel. This is the last time I listen to Mr. I've-got-shit-for-brains.

Regaining some form of seriousness, Tenten helped her friend back to his feet. "I just saw Kiba. He said you were to audition soon," she hesitantly said before adding, "there was this devilish glint in his eyes. I wouldn't do it if I were you, I think Kiba's gone power mad." Resolute, the brown-haired girl tried to drag Lee away from the arena.

It was to little avail, Konoha's Azure Beast never turns down a challenge. Naruto had been right about one thing: Sasuke, Kiba and Shino were an unholy trinity and needed to be stopped. But then again, so did Naruto. Something had to be done about all of them. Lee had to save face—especially in front of Tenten and Neji.

--------------------

"Sasuke-kun! What are we doing here?"

" I told you a thousand times, I'm going to sabotage Naruto. Instead of bugging me with your stupid questions, go back to the arena and leave me alone." After giving Lee a solid beating, Sasuke marched straight to Naruto's pitiful excuse for a room. Through the rancid smell of his comrade's rotting lunch—of last year—and Sakura, sucking all breathable air out of the room with her pointless questions, he began investigating his comrade's humble abode.

"Sasuke-kun! What are you looking for?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up, woman?" As his searching hands fell on a sealed box under Naruto's bed, Sasuke grinned at the notice posted on the cover. It said 'Personal. Hands off. Ultra secret.' Naruto was very good at humiliating himself but, whatever Naruto could do, Sasuke could do better. And this time, the young Uchiha was about to prove that theory right—he had found what he was looking for.

"Sasuke-kun! What's that?"

…

------------------

Meanwhile, Mr. I've-got-shit-for-brains—commonly known as Naruto—was hard at work at the auditions. Sitting right next to an aggravated Kiba, Naruto, still in the guise of Shino, had just finished auditioning Chouji. The pudgy ninja had left the stage unnerved and annoyed—for Naruto, that was a job well done.

What seemed even more satisfying was the sight of Kiba, fuming next to him. "That's it! You're not the boss. This is my movie so keep your big mouth shut!" Normally, Kiba would not take this affront lightly but the nagging thought of losing Hinata kept him quiet while Naruto managed to convince Chouji to belly dance.

The rookies would of all went home after that last stunt, if not for the fact that everyone took Kiba's movie slogan very seriously. Instead of 'Stupid actors for a stupid movie', Kiba had settled with a simpler, more to-the-point tagline that everyone could relate to: 'Audition for my movie or I'll kick you in the nuts.'

However, before Lee could have his turn, Kiba called a break. Somewhat suspicious of Shino's behavior and Naruto's mysterious disappearance, it didn't take long before the bright and talented Inuzuka boy put two and two together and decided to take a look around.

Walking across the hallway of the upper floor of the arena, he came face to face with no other than Hinata, who was looking for Naruto. Slightly blushing at the sight of her teammate, the black-haired girl stopped in her tracks and politely waved. "Hey Kiba," she softly said. "S-s-sorry about earlier."

"Hey, no problem, Hinata!" Kiba shot out happily. Apologizing to Hinata was turning out easier than he had planned—especially that she was the one apologizing to him. "Have you seen Shino?"

"Yeah, he's still on the dais…doing s-something i-in-indecent…."

Damn that bastard! If it's Naruto, he's going to be sorry. Distracting Kiba from his musings was Hinata, a frightened expression about her, as the ninken shinobi gleamed with malice, picturing the sensational kicking of both Shino and Naruto's asses—one of those two birds, one stone things. "Being the genius that I am," Kiba began on a lighter note, never missing a chance to boast to Hinata. "I think that's not the real Shino."

"You think that why, Kiba-kun?" You think, period, is what she should of asked. But that was not something Hinata would say.

"A little sausage whispered it to me," he chuckled, proud of his inside joke—although it only rewarded him with a strange look on Hinata's front. Indeed, the imagery was disturbing.

Their pleasant chitchat was suddenly interrupted by a distant, familiar voice, calling out from a room down the hall. "In here, you morons."

"That was Shino's voice," Hinata gasped.

Riled up and annoyed, Kiba was already grated by his friend's voice. "That's it! I'm abandoning you here. Now, who's the moron?"

"Still you if you don't untie me…moron."

"Ugh!" Kiba would of left Shino there. On second thought, Naruto was easier to deal with. He would of walked away if it was not for Hinata, who had raced down the hall and straight towards the far-right room near the staircase. Closing the door behind him, Kiba cockily leaned on the wall, mocking his friend and how easily he had been tricked. "You've been had by Naruto? I mean, who the hell gets had by Naruto, eh?"

Hinata and Shino stayed silent, but the latter was exasperatedly rolling his eyes back.

"But I'm officially annoyed," Kiba pursued, still a cocky air about him. "That Naruto. How could he dare annoy me with his lame excuse for a sabotage."

"Yeah," Shino detachedly agreed. "That's your racket."

Ticked off, Kiba fought the urge to whack Shino a good one and focused on the problem at hand; Naruto. "How did he do it?"

"He was helped by that weirdo, Lee."

For Kiba, that was the last straw. Being bested by Naruto was one thing, but throw in Lee and that was an offense he could not let slide. Running the gamete on cunning plans was not Kiba's trade, but come to think of it, it was not Naruto's either. And, whatever Naruto could do, someone out there could do it better. It was Kiba's turn. "Well, I've got a plan of my own."

"You're going to disguise yourself as Lee and act gay? Pointless if you ask me, that bridge's been crossed-"

"Shut up! I've got a plan ten times more brilliant than theirs. Operation Down with the Cretinous Duo is on!"

Unfortunately for Inuzuka Kiba, he was much more like Naruto than he'd like to admit.