Ok just little sum up what happen in the previous chappy is that the group split up into team to investigate. However most do not know what is it they look for (except our genius Neji):

Team 1: Neji and Tsuki, with one smoke bomb and a kunai left, going to check out the scrolls

Team 2: Tenten and Feliia, with two kunai and one smoke bomb left, going to check to female ninja

Team 3: Lee and Hano, with one smoke bomb and a kunai left, going to check out the giant ninja

Chapter 23 -The Hypothesis-

"Yosh-su!... should be far enough Feliia" Feliia responded to calling Leo to a halt and he quickly disappeared.

"Yosh? Isn't that Lee's little quote" Feliia inquired

"Yeah…" Tenten giggled alittle "we have been together for quite awhile now… I just it only natural to pick up things here and there…'

"Like LLooooVVVveeeee" Feliia finished, intentionally over emphasizing the love

'SHUT UP AND START LOOKING!!!' Tenten shouted objection. Feliia smiled and started to investigate the ninja. '…by the way picking up one's saying the completely different to love' Tenten followed up pouting

Feliia turned to Tenten and gave her Neji famous 'Hn' in response. Both girls laughed.

'ARCHOO~'

'OI! Cover you mouth Neji!' Tsuki shouted at Neji 'You sick? Don't be giving me no germs'

'Shut up and ride' Neji replied calmly to the disgruntle successor.

'See anything?' Feliia inquired

'No… not even a kunai we could use'

Feliia continued to inspect the lifeless body 'ARG!!! FAR OUT!!!' Feliia screamed at this point practically ripping the clothes of the female body.

"Neji wasn't very specific!" Tenten said out of frustration "Neji alway like this!... never into details!!!' Tenten then saw a small piece to folded paper in the waste of clothing '…A drawing??' Tenten moved to Feliia to show her the photo

Feliia midway in her clothing destruction examined the drawing along with Tenten.

'That the three masked ninjas…but without masks' Tenten voiced her observation… '…what's on their faces??

'Unmasks the ninja that a good idea' Feliia answered 'I haven't checked her face'

'hah?' Tenten surprised at Feliia's statement 'should you have checked her 'decent' parts BEFORE ripping off her clothes??'

'I just followed Lee and Neji's lead…' Feliia replied honestly, referring to how both boys were checking out female ninja previously

'Pervert' Tenten teased

'I AM NOT!' Feliia protested and quickly ripped off her masked.

Both girls stared at the face 'She pretty…' Tenten honestly said

'Who's the perv now?' Feliia retorted before tilting her head at the wooden emblem her face 'Is that… the sun emblem?' She went to remove the emblem and although she only used that smallest of force the ninja faced crumbled

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Both girls screamed

Suddenly both girls felt a cold hand of there shoulder

'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Both girls screamed louder

'GIRLS! STOP it okay!! She's a marionette!' a male voiced tried to clam them down

'Lee?' Tenten questioned. Both girls turned to Lee who had Hano on his back

'We gotta run now!' Lee quickly informed the two.

'He's coming!' Hano followed up. The two girls did not refused and Feliia quickly summoned Leo all four jumped on and they rode off.

'DAMMIT! Guy you lead him right to us!' Feliia exclaimed while controlling Leo 'We didn't get enough time!'

Pendulum shaped tears dangled from Lee's eyes 'I didn't know you guys were here…' Lee replied passing Hano to Tenten while he tried using the mirror to signal Neji and Tsuki

'That right we had less time then you, no complaining' Hano came to Lee's defence

'Lee what happened? What did you just say?' Tenten inquired

Lee began to informed the girls of what happen at his end

'Yosh! Here we are' Lee gently place Hano down

'He's hugh!' Hano said explained the Giant Ninjas stature 'Neji! SO COOL! He fought and won! SO COOL!!!'

'Hai hai… his the boy genius Neji' Lee replied as he was used to people admiring Neji's awesomeness

'Where should be start looking? And what for?' Hano asked Lee

'THE FACE!' Lee replied 'I WILL UNMASK THE SUPERVILLIANS EVIL IDENTITY!!! HEY-YAH!!!!'

At this part of the story both Tenten and Feliia were dishearten and embarrass to checking the body before the face.

Lee ripped off the mask and they too found a sun emblem on his face.

'Hey that our emblem!' Hano, the sun successor informed. Hano with the pick it up and his face, just as the female did, it crumbled

'AAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!' Little Hano screamed and begun to cry

'Yosh! Yosh! Yosh! it okay!' Lee said, to which Hano grabbed on Lee and continued a little sob. Lee examined the ninja face. Lee face lit up with excitement and twinkles replacing his eyes

'Look look Hano!' Lifting her up 'No insides' Lee hovered Hano over the head and surely enough there was none of the organs up expected for humans to have. He placed her down still very much excited. Lee began to move is arm in the hollow ninja's body. In the opening of the head down his neck and into arm

'Look look Hano!' He called to her wearing the giant's arms 'I SO BADASS' He said in his most gangster like tone.

Hano pouted at the sight clearly not amuse 'Hey~' Hano voice putting a stop to Lee impersonation 'another one…' Hano once again putted at the emblem on the arm and the arm crumbled 'AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' shock once again

Hano grabbed onto Lee and he suddenly turned his head, ignoring her

'Lee?' Hano called wanting attention

'Crap! Gotta run!' Lee warned

'What?' Hano asked, shock that she was being pulled be Lee.

'He's coming!' Lee replied quickly and threw Hano on his back.

Hano did not waste time questioning Lee about his instinct and reach for the smoke bomb 'What direction?'

'Right behind' Lee answered still running 'And he coming fast!' Surely enough ninja was catching up

'Good evening' He called when he came into view

'Good night!' Hano said as she threw the smoke bomb at him and followed by summon her mice. The ninja caught by surprised at the number of the mice was fazed very little.

'Hano can mice throw kunai?' Lee asked

'Regular mice or my mice?'

'YOURS!'

'HAI!!' Hano replied startled at Lee raised voice

'Get the last of our kunai. Get to you mice to throw it at him at the different direction to where we are going. It won't stop him but hopefully he'll be confused for abit'

Hano quickly summon some mice handed them the kunai 'Good luck' she said softly and they threw them overbroad.

'Wow LEE!!' Tenten complimented Lee's quick thinking which he doesn't get enough credit for

'YOSH!!!!!!' Lee replied, excited to be complimented, and started giving off victory poses. Tenten followed up by giving Lee an applause which Hano joined in too

'Hello? Back to business' Feliia reminded 'We found the same… I notice they're were emblems…' Feliia pause and somewhat embarrassed '…on her arms, legs, tummy and chest'

'Pervent' Hano and Tenten teased, where as Lee was a little traumatized

'Hano said that she seen them used in puppetry' Lee said as he hit his head over and over trying to remove the mental image from his head.

'I saw it once this puppeteer moved that puppet with chakara' Hano continued

'Like Kankuro' Lee informed Tenten to which she returned nod in agreement

'Then if there both the puppets…' Feliia began

'Then the dude that chasing us is the master?' Tenten finished

'That could explain his need for chakara! HIS TRYING TO CREATE AN ARMY OF PUPPETS!' Lee cried and mental image of puppet solider coming into mind

'Neji' Tenten said subconsciously concerned with the new revelations

'What?'

'Uwwaaa~ NEJI??!!!' Tenten exclaimed

'Tsuki too!' Feliia added excited. Both Neji and Tsuki on Ren (Tsuki wolf) ran beside them

'YO!' Tsuki greeted shortly however concentrated on the riding

'What?' Neji continued to enquire about the reason Tenten called his name

'What what?' Tenten asked back

Neji became a little irritated as he didn't like answers to question that were questions 'You called my name before you knew we were next to you. What is it?'

'I- I just was thinking –PUPPETS! then I thought –about –you and-' Tenten answering truthfully, not really know what to say and was making no sense saying what ever came to mind 'PERVENTS… emblem' Tenten quickly realized the item in her hands 'HERE!' she frantically went to pass the picture and emblem to Neji, only to fall due to the turbulent speed they were going.

Lee caught Hano, who was in Tenten arms and Neji caught Tenten pulling her onto Ren, he was fazed very little by it as he has come accustom to her clumsiness.

'Um… here' She passed him the items and when she was to retracted her hand, however Neji held onto her wrist and examined the picture. Neji held on to her wrist for the innocent reason of preventing her from falling again of course.

'Neji?' she questioned the reason of him still holding her wrist

'The scrolls really turned into ashes' Neji replied think the Tenten was asking about there side of the split

A sign of relief escape Tsuki's mouth as then passed the Ninja to the direction of the scrolls

'Who'd you think his aiming for?' Tsuki asked

'If I was him I'd aim for Lee' Neji replied 'He is the easiest target being without beast and having Hano which has no fighting skills'

'Thats good' Tsuki relieved

'ARCHOO~' Neji sneezed unaware that the girls were mentioning him at their end

'OI! Cover you mouth Neji!' Tsuki shouted at Neji 'You sick? Don't be giving me no germs'

'Shut up and ride' Neji replied calmly to the disgruntle successor.

Tsuki turned to voice his objection only to see Neji was missing 'What the? – OI!'

Neji had jumped off as they had reach their destination however Tsuki was distracted by Neji's attitude to notice

'Why you!' Tsuki called has he turned Ren around

'Why did the scrolls turned into ashes?' Neji asked ignoring Tsuki previous digression, and examined the scrolls

Tsuki shrugged 'I'd say it because the ninja absorbed them'

'All of it? Care to enlighted me with information that I have not obtained already?'

'Well I don't know' Tsuki becoming annoyed at Neji's question 'It not like I was taught this…what would happen if the chakara was removed from the scrolls'

'Ok lets go' Neji stood up

'WHAT?' Tsuki exclaimed at the little time they spent investigating 'Did we really have to come here if that all you needed?'

'I have confirmed what I needed' Neji answered 'I'm not going to stay longer for the novelty of the effort you put in to get us here' Neji hopped back onto Ren and beckon Tsuki to ride

'I don't understand it' Tsuki voiced

'Yes I know you don't' Neji replied thinking the Tsuki was referring to the remains of the scroll while trying to signal the other with the mirror

'No not the scrolls' Tsuki quickly caught on 'You are the most disagreeable person I know! And yet Tenten…

Neji gave out of a sigh to cut Tsuki off. 'I'm not going to sit and indulge in your feelings over this crush of yours' Continuing to uses the mirror and search for possibility of the other signal

'A CRUSH? I have genuine love for Tenten!' Tsuki objected 'At least I'm willing and man enough to voice them'

'You voice your feeling prematurely and without thought. You give Tenten the burden of your feelings and continue to claim procession from her by remind me of you 'genuine love'' Neji replied in the usual calm tone 'I know what my feelings are, and they are my own'

'You are confused about your feelings and you're afraid to say it out loud, you are scared to…'

'I'm a either afraid or confused' Cutting Tsuki off once again 'There is just not the right word to describes the feelings I know I have'

'And they are?' Tsuki beckon

'Like i said, there are no adjectives to describe my feelings… you should listen to others'

'YOU!'

'To your right' Neji said quickly 'They're to our right'

'What?' Tsuki look to the right and in the sky a mirror signal could be seen 'Right!' He steard Ren to the direction of the light

'Neji' Neji heard Tenten call his name

'What?' Neji replied

'What?!' Feliia voice in an angry tone we could have checked the scrolls… did you know how long me and Tenten were examining the girl not knowing what to look for?'

'And it wasn't like you find anything new either!' Hano continued

'What do you think Neji?' Both Lee and Tenten asked, ignoring the two knowing full well that their comrade would not do any unnecessary actions

'I heard your hypothesis about the remaining ninja being the puppet master' Neji informed 'that hypothesis has a flaw, look-' Neji moving the photo to where Tenten and Lee could view it 'This photo looks of the previous century based on the clothing they are wearing. Judging from their appearance age wise at that time, I high doubt any human in the photo could live to this day'

'So then the remaining ninja his…'

'Most likely a puppet'

'No way…' Lee said dishearten

'But you beat the other two!' Tenten pointed out, trying to keep sprits high

'That right' Feliia added 'You most likely defeated them by braking one of the emblem…'

'Yeah! The emblems are most likely the thing that kept the chakara in place!' Hano added her knowledge about the sun emblem

'But he got the infinite source now' Tsuki pointed out the fact that the ninja absorbed that scroll

'No we can beat him' Neji pronoun confidently

'Neji?' Both Tenten and Lee asked

'I am absolutely certain that if we break the emblems holding the chakara we will win'

'Didn't you hear what I just said about the infinite amount?' Tsuki remineded 'There is no point of - CRAP!'

Both Feliia and Tsuki stopped their beast. 'Damn! When did he…' Unbeknown to the six the ninja had somehow not only caught up but in front of them.

'Good evening' The ninja repeated himself from the previous greeting he gave to Lee and Hano 'Not very polite to not respond to my greeting'

All six remained completely still, before both Feliia and Tsuki gave an agreeable nod and turned there beast around, however the ninja had them in his sight and would to allow them leave appearing in front of them again. Tenten gave a slight smile before grabbing the wrist of the hand the Neji held her with, pulling him off Ren with her.

'I'm in!' Tenten announced, with that Lee also dismounting Leo

'YOSH!!! I trust you Neji' Lee said with his famous nice guy pose, refering to Neji plans of simply attacking

'Hn' Neji said simply 'We fight together

Chapter 23 -The Hypothesis-:: END

hey everyone.... i personally not a fan of writing fight events.... damn me and my need for a story line beside love and cuteness (which i prefer to write!)

i plan to end the whole fight by the next chapter and get up some more neji/ tenten moments.... if not the chapter after that but i'll do it all at once!

i hope i don't dissapoint which the battle story conclusion....

c y next time!