Chapter 1 – New Moves

Tsunade looked at the villagers from above. She smiled as they cheered for her. She had just given a speech about continuing the job here sensei started, to protect the village and to see the seeds grow into powerful trees. She made this vow as the Fifth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf village.

After a few minutes, Tsunade turned to leave. She had work to do as she planned to keep that vow to the village. She was joined by the elders, Homura and Koharu, as they made their way to her office.

"It was an inspiring speech lady Hokage." Koharu stated.

"I came up with it on the fly. I just hope I can deliver." Tsunade said.

"Do not fret. We will offer the same advice we did with the Third." Homura spoke. They arrived at the office to see a nervous Shizune at the door. Tsunade narrowed her eyes.

"He's not in there, is he?" she demanded.

"Well, he is but," Shizune began but decided to show them. Opening the door, they entered to see Jiraiya who was stiff as a board. He had a scowl on his face and was glaring at the two elders.

"You two sent the brat after me!" He shouted. Tsunade was confused and looked at the two elders, who looked amused.

"We did not send Uzumaki after you. You should be speaking to the owner of the bath house you've been annoying. Apparently, she complained to him, and he said that he would handle it." Koharu explained.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" he shouted.

"You've been attempting to disengage the security Naruto installed to keep your 'ilk' away from their establishment." Homura said and walked up to him. He noticed the mark near the shoulder blade. "Ah, his Trap Clone was a success. I recognize the markings."

"Seeing as you know about this, you can set me free." Jiraiya said with an edge.

"He could but I'm going to order that he doesn't. He can free you once our meeting is over." Tsunade said amused. Homura bowed to her while Jiraiya scowled. "Stop being a baby. You only have yourself to blame." She walked around her desk while Shizune turned Jiraiya around to face her. The elders took a seat and Jiraiya was eased into a seat as well.

"So, have you learned anything about Orochimaru?" She asked.

"He's gone to ground as expected. A lot of the bases that we knew about have been abandoned and hos forces have picked up stakes. He destroyed any useful information that we could have used. If I was betting man, he's going to focus on getting Sasuke." Jiraiya said.

"Something that will not be easy. Hozuki Castle is not a place you can just escape from." Homura said.

"Not to mention that the warden is not known for taking bribes. Orochimaru will find it difficult to manipulate him." Koharu added.

"You mean Lord Mui? I agree with you about that since I have met the man. Still, we need to consider talking to the Hidden Grass village about putting one of ours inside just to keep an eye on the brat." Jiraiya argued.

"That has already been done. Also, the Hidden Grass has already reported Sasuke's activities since his arrival. He isn't making any allies within." Tsunade said.

"You have someone inside? Well, who is it? One of the ANBU?" Jiraiya asked. Tsunade sighed at the question.

"Not one of ours." She said seriously. Jiraiya was confused until it finally hit him. He frowned at her.

"You're really going to trust him?" he asked.

"For now, our views are aligned. He is behaving and he especially does not want Sasuke to fall into Orochimaru's hands. For now, he can be trusted." Jiraiya wasn't convinced but relented. Seeing this, she continued with the meeting. However, Jiraiya cut her off.

"Can you scratch my nose?" he asked with a childish tone. Tsunade sighed and looked toward Shizune. The assistant did as she was told, and he sighed in relief. The meeting continued without interruption.

XXX

Team Kanden was walking through the village after another mission. They were talking to each other like they have been friends and teammates since the beginning. Tekumo was pleased at how quickly they came together as a team. There were hiccups but they were quickly dealt with. Tobio was happy to have teammates that cared. Naruto's attitude helped as he always involved him.

The reformation already paid dividends. They had only done three D-rank missions, but it was done well. Their training was always improving. The three already came up with a combination attack that was still being worked on. Tekumo was happy as were his charges.

"I Still think you guys cheated." Naruto argued.

"How can you cheat in Roshambo?" Tobio mocked.

"Stop whining Naruto. You lost and we are eating at another restaurant." Sakura stated.

"Besides, you can eat something other than ramen." Tobio added.

"You shut your mouth! Never disrespect the ramen! It is the food of Gods!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Okay, okay, calm down Naruto. You will enjoy the restaurant, I promise." Tekumo said. The boy pouted and they kept walking toward the restaurant, talking about the last mission. Tekumo enjoyed this, happy to have a full team again.

XXX

Tora laid in the cage and was content with it. Granted, they would be back in the hands of that woman but today it would be worth it, especially if they were getting this type of treat. She was slowly savoring the smoked salmon dish with herbs. If she had fingers, she would be licking them. She was in heaven and cared little about anything else. That when a voice spoke up.

"Tora really likes the fish Choji." Tora knew the voice as that lazy kid with the shadow that had caught her a few times.

"Well, it was something I came up with for one of my clan's cats. They liked it so much; I thought Tora would like it too." Tora blinked at that. There was another who got this treat. That would need to be dealt with.

"It was good bait Choji. Made the capture much easier. I think this is the fastest this mission has been completed and it's thanks to you." This voice sounded older to Tora. It might be the sensei.

"That's right up your alley for each of you. Do the least amount of work, I mean." A female voice said snobbishly. Tora was not amused by the tone of her voice and turned to face her. She hissed at her for her words. She would not allow her to insult a gifted artist of fish. She noticed this and glared at her. "What are you hissing at cat?"

"Maybe it didn't like your insult toward Choji, or it could be your attitude overall." The bored one said. This made the blond turn her glare toward him. However, she didn't say anything.

"Give it a rest Ino." Tora heard his favorite speak. "We completed the mission with ease. Please, don't make this a bigger issue." She glared at him, making her hiss louder. She was becoming a very dislikeable person to her. She then huffed and looked away.

"Whatever. Seeing as my attitude is bothering you all, may I be excused sensei?" She said with disrespect.

"No, you may not, and I would watch your tone, genin. The ice you're walking on can only get thinner." The man warned. Tora was happy to see her be put in her place. She turned back to her treat and enjoyed the trip back to her owner.

XXX

Kurenai stood waiting near the grounds, waiting for her team to arrive. She was not waiting long when Shino led her team toward her. She smiled as the young man handed her a scroll.

"Mission completed sensei." Shino said.

"Very good chunin. I was very impressed with how you led the mission, but you can improve on some areas. I am most pleased that your team worked with you, rather than against you. Egos can be detrimental to a team's dynamic." Kurenai said. Kiba gave her a deadpan stare.

"You're talking about me, aren't you?" Kiba asked with a pout, earning a giggle from Hinata.

"I'm sorry Kiba. I meant no offense. Either way, I believe these calls for a celebration, my treat." Kurenai said. Kiba cheered as the they walked toward their usual spot. As they walked, Kurenai was listening to their conversation.

"So, things have improved at your home now? I know that you were a little uncomfortable a while back." Kiba said.

"Yes, things h-have improved a bit since last time. Neji mostly just ignores me, but he doesn't sneer at me as much. I do know that he spoke with my father a few days ago. M-Maybe that has something to do with his change." Hinata answered. Her two teammates nodded at that, pleased. That's when Shino turned to Kiba.

"What about you Kiba? Are the Hyuga backing off?" he asked.

"I-I apologize about that Kiba." Hinata added.

"It isn't your fault that your main house is a bunch of sore losers. It wasn't like I did something wrong. Still, your pops was talking with my mom a while back and the harassment has stopped somewhat. It was better that she dealt with it rather than me." Kiba explained.

"I am also glad that you allowed the adults to handle it Kiba. You have shown that you can be mature at times." Kurenai added to the conversation.

"You know, you sound like you're complimenting me but then you just cut me right from under my knees." He said with bored tone.

"That is to teach you humility." Kurenai joked. The rest of the trip was done with light conversation.

XXX

"Hibachi, Ami, if I see you slacking again, it will be the whole group that pays. Do the laps." A serious Kakashi ordered.

"Y-Yes sensei." The two said tired, before glaring at each other. The glares of the others stopped them from going at each other as the group of twelve continued the laps. Kakashi watched his group, focused and making sure that no one was lacking off. He wished that he had his book out, but he was warned that his punishment would only increase if he did not take this seriously. It was a bitter pill but one he would have to endure for the time being. If anything, he could use this opportunity to prove to everyone that he wasn't the failure that they believed him to be.

Despite what everyone thought, Kakashi acknowledges that he did not do a great job with his former team. He did favor Sasuke over the others. He believed that Sasuke was more important at that time. It was because of the worries of his loyalty, which proved to be right. Kakashi knows that he messed up but that did not make him to one that was solely blameless for what happened to his team.

People like Iruka kept undermining his process. He was the sensei of team seven and he should have run it like how he was supposed to. Naruto was the most disrespectful of the two as he encouraged that type of behavior, disrespecting in front of the two and going to Iruka or Ibiki to train. Sakura was a fan girl who he believed was getting what he was saying only for her to do the same thing as Naruto. If they had waited, been patient, they would have been this generation's version of the Great Three Ninja.

He sighed as he was now relegated to this position. It was a program for those who failed their final genin exams or were not making the cut with their teams. This program was created to give them a second chance at joining the Hidden Leaf's forces. It a six-month probational period where they would be trained by a team of chunin and jonin. After the six months, the jonin will take them on a mock mission and evaluate if they deserved another chance. If they failed, they were done.

He was placed here to quote the Hokage 'teach you how to lead'. He scoffed at that as he led men before. This one failure did not dismiss his years of service to the village. He turned his attention back to the group who had just finished the laps. He watched as they were trying to catch their breath, some better than others.

"All right, three-minute break, then we go through hand seal drills." He ordered. Everyone answered him as he prepared his lesson.

XXX

Sasuke laid on the ground, his chest of fire. He truly hated seals. They were the bane of his existence. This seal was placed upon him when he arrived here at this prison. He struggled to get to his knees and crawled over to the wall to lean against it. He let out a pained sigh and pulled himself up. He continued using the wall to get to his bed. Once he arrived, he dropped onto the bed, letting out a pained grunt.

Sasuke refused to allow this to break him. He would not allow the Hidden Leaf to break his will, pride or spirit. He would get stronger in here. It didn't matter if his chakra was reduced, it didn't matter that he didn't have a sensei, he would get stronger. Nothing would stand in the way of his ambitions. He was an avenger. It was his destiny to bring honor back to his clan and his pride. For that, two people needed to die.

Itachi Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki.

XXXXX

Authors' Notes: Hello all and welcome to a new story. The sequel to The Losers is finally up and running. Sorry it took so long but work has been busy and I just finally worked out a schedule that would allow me to write and type. Either way, I hope you enjoy this new arc of the story. I hope that you'll be impressed.