About an hour later, Akira heard footsteps echoing from the ridge. He sat up and drew out a pair of kunai, quickly imbuing them with chakra. He gazed stonily up at the ridge as Hinata began to stir behind him. "Lie still, Hinata," he said softly. "You're still recovering from that wound, and you could damage something if you move around too much."

She nodded weakly, and opened her eyes. "It's all right. It's just Taro."

Akira sighed in relief, and lowered his weapons. A familiar shock of red hair appeared above the ridge, followed by a running Taro. Akira waved calmly. "Taro. Glad you finally found us."

Taro shook his head in amazement. "Geez… You two go out for a little stargazing, and the next thing I know Hinata's kidnapped, and the village is swarming with elite deadbeats from Cloud. What the heck is going on?" He stopped dead as he saw Hinata lying at Akira's side, the smile dropping from his face. "What the… Hinata?"

Akira raised a hand. "It's okay. A Cloud ninja got her, but I got her away in time and managed to heal her." He grinned. "Actually, she gave as good as she got, and took down a chunin, no less. The Gentle Fist techniques really are something."

Hinata smiled weakly, and raised herself up on one arm. "What about the others? Are they with you?"

Taro blinked, then nodded. "Actually, yeah. But what's with Naruto, anyway? It took me five minutes to get him up. Then I mentioned you were in trouble, and all of a sudden he was outside, yelling for us to get going! I swear, he's one of the weirdest ninja I've ever encountered. Anyway, we thought we'd be able to find you faster if we split up, and then sent up a flare once you guys were found. So me and Sakura came this way, and Naruto and that Sasuke kid went another way."

He drew out a flare and tossed into the air as Sakura peeked her face over the lip of the bowl. She ran down the side towards the others and gasped. "Hinata? What happened?"

Taro sighed. "Those stupid Cloud ninja showed up."

Sakura bounced a well-judged snowball off of his head. "Well, yeah, of course it was Cloud, but what exactly happened here?"

Hinata sighed. "I got overconfident. I'm sorry, Akira. And after I promised you I'd be careful, too."

Akira shrugged. "Hinata and I double-teamed one ninja and took him out quickly. Then we each took one of the other two. Hinata took down her opponent, a tough chunin, with an excellent Gentle Fist attack, but he managed to strike her with a lightning jutsu before he lost consciousness. I got her out safely and managed to heal her, and she's just waking up now from the healing jutsu's effect."

Hinata smiled again. "Akira was the really amazing one. He went toe-to-toe with their leader, a full jounin, and held his own. He even put a scratch in his headband!"

Taro stared at Akira. "Against a jounin? Are you serious?"

Akira frowned. "Don't get too excited, Taro. I got the sense that he was playing with me a bit."

Taro grinned, his eyes shifting to ice blue for a moment. "Modesty will get you nowhere, big brother. And it won't slip past these eyes."

Akira laughed. "Guess I can't put anything past the Kyoushin heir, huh?"

Taro sighed. "You know full well I still consider you to be the one who holds that honor. Stop putting yourself down already, and ignore what Dad says. He's being an idiot, but he'll come around one of these days."

Akira sighed. "How I wish that were true." He cocked his head, a sound reaching his ears. "Please tell me that's our cavalry."

Taro gripped the cloth-wrapped bundle on his back. "Not a chance of that, I'm afraid. Better bring those kunai back out."

Akira nodded. "Sakura. I'm sorry, I know you always get stuck in this sort of role, but I need you to watch over Hinata while Taro and I fight them off. She hasn't fully recovered from the healing yet, so she'll be vulnerable for a while." He turned to Hinata and smiled. "You showed me the power of your clan's Gentle Fist style a little while ago. Now permit me to return the favor."

He raised his fists, each shimmering with a different color of chakra. Sakura blinked. "Dual element? Now that's a rare trait."

Taro grinned, and slipped the cloth off of his long sword. "Got that right. I've only got fire." He ran one finger down the flat of the blade, blazing red chakra following in its wake. "But that and my nodachi here shouldn't have any trouble with these guys."

Akira shook his head. "Focus, Taro. These are chunin and jounin we're dealing with. It won't be an easy battle."

Taro grinned. "I know; that's what makes it so fun!"

He swung his sword in a massive downward arc, sending a wave of chakra up the hill and straight into the face of an approaching Cloud ninja. As another leapt over the wall behind them, Akira spun and caught one outstretched arm by the wrist, then twisted it and forced him to the ground. He raised his other hand and struck hard at the base of the neck. The enemy ninja's eyes shot wide open, and then he keeled over, unconscious. Akira glared up as two more chunin appeared over the lip of the bowl. "Soul Fist, Water Style. It has no name, but it's a nice move. I enhance the usual effect of hitting the pressure point at the base of the neck by injecting water chakra, causing a deeper and more stunning impact. As a result, the enemy is knocked out for several hours." He grinned slightly. "I invented it, actually. Now, where was I…?" He and Taro inched closer together, standing back-to-back as more ninja appeared. "Any bright ideas, little brother?" he asked pointedly.

Taro thought for a moment. "Well, there's always that technique," he said. "As long as we're careful not to hit Sakura or Hinata."

Akira nodded, his hands already initiating a new jutsu. "Ready?"

Taro sheathed his blade and made several hand signs of his own. "Of course."

Akira pointed. "Up there. It'll cause the most damage if we aim it there."

Taro nodded, and put one hand near his mouth. "Let's go, Kyoushin heir."

Akira smiled, then shouted up towards the Cloud ninja. "Hey, you Cloud filth! Take this! The deadly combined attack of the Kyoushin brothers: Moeshippu! Burning Gale!" Both young ninja released their attack at a group of four chunin, one of whom sported visible burns. "Taishippu no Jutsu! Fireball Jutsu!" they shouted. The resulting attack created a swirling vortex of flames that blasted straight into the four attackers. Several lightning strikes flew from the group, but the wind chakra surrounding the flames negated them easily, and the whirling flames smashed into them before they could leap out of the way. Before the stricken foes could rise, Akira and Taro were there, and with a few quick strikes to their pressure points, the enemies were down.

Down below, Sakura could only stare. "Is that the famous Soul Fist style?" she asked.

Hinata grinned and slowly sat up. "So that's how he was able to beat Lee that one time. I wish I could help them…"

She tried to get to her feet, then yelped as she fell back down. Sakura spun around. "Hey, don't strain yourself. Without that healing jutsu, you probably would have died. An injury like that doesn't heal easily." She slid a few shuriken from the bag at her side. "Don't worry, though. I'm a much better shot than he is."

"Which isn't saying much," chuckled Hinata. Her eyes narrowed suddenly. "Not good. I can see that horrible Mizuiro coming. The jounin that Akira had to fight."

Up above, Akira looked and saw another chunin charging at him. "And that makes six. It would appear that another squad caught up to us," he remarked, as he pushed his enemy's right arm aside. "Soul Fist, Wind Style: Choking Mace!" He twisted his hand around, caught his enemy's wrist in his left hand, and then pulled him directly into a forearm strike. As it struck, he forced wind chakra into his enemy's windpipe, then pulled back and kicked him hard in the stomach. The injured chunin flew about five feet, and then collapsed to the ground, groaning and wheezing from the attack. Akira smiled as behind him, Taro spun around his enemy and smashed him to the ground with a powerful flame attack. "Good, Taro. You're learning your Fire Style techniques well."

Taro grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. "Yeah, the Spiral Blaze gets them every time. Oops, heads up!" He swung his blade in an arc straight from the sheath and split a flying wind blade in half just before it hit Akira.

Akira spun around and drew out his kodachi. "Taro, this one's mine. You keep an eye on Sakura and Hinata."

Taro glanced at the approaching jounin. "Oh, I see. That's the one you put a mark on? Good show. He's all yours." He leapt down the hill towards Sakura and Hinata.

Mizuiro groaned at the number of unconscious ninja around Akira. "Oh, come on! How many chunin does it take to bring down a bunch of genin wusses?" He sighed. "Oh well. Guess I'll have to handle you myself."

Akira narrowed his eyes at Mizuiro. "You cut off a few of Hinata's hairs with that first attack of yours. And that was after I said I'd kill anyone who harmed so much as a hair on her head. That threat still stands, Mizuiro. Prepare yourself."

He charged hard as Mizuiro swung one hand around, a blade shimmering on the fingers. The blades clanged hard off of one another. Mizuiro blinked as he realized Akira had been using only one hand to swing the kodachi- leaving the other one free to slam into his stomach. He managed to deflect it from the pressure point Akira had aimed for, but it still stung, especially with the water chakra he had loaded the attack with. Akira smiled harshly as Mizuiro leapt back to inspect the damage. "Not bad, kid. A few more years of training, and you might just be able to defeat me. Too bad I'm going to kill you here."

Akira shook his head. "Don't fool yourself. You know it's me who's going to kill you." One hand slid between his eyes. "Tsukigan!" Icy blue eyes glared at Mizuiro, who took a step back. "Feints won't work now, you know. These eyes will see through any trickery."

Mizuiro shook his head. "You're something else, kid. What's someone like you still doing at the genin rank?"

Akira shrugged. "Hyuuga Neji is still a genin, and from what I've seen he could have taken your entire squad out alone, even if he is an accursed scumbag. So could Uzumaki Naruto, for that matter. He's quirky, certainly, but there are few I'd rather have fighting by my side." He glanced up and grinned. "And speaking of powerful Konoha ninja…"

Two figures streaked through the night, towards the seven ninja approaching the opposite side of the bowl. Two voices cried out, "Fireball Jutsu! Kagebunshin no Jutsu!" Suddenly, one figure became a hundred, and flames streaked from another directly into the center of the group. Mizuiro stared. "What the… You had reinforcements too!"

Akira snorted. "I already told you that. Get ready, you scum. Two of the most dangerous genin in all of Konoha have just arrived." Their blades clashed again, but with a flourish Akira slipped in and put a slice into Mizuiro's shoulder. Mizuiro swore, then leapt back and tossed down a smoke bomb. Akira shook his head, and ran a single finger down his side. "Shame, really, Mizuiro. You actually had a shot at me, with this wound." He made a quick hand sign, and the deep cut sealed itself. He leapt across the bowl, the snow flying in his wake. "Sasuke! Naruto! Glad you two could make it."

Naruto grinned, as three of his clones swarmed one of the enemy chunin. "Well, of course. Did you seriously think we'd miss a fight like this? No way! Dattebayo!"

Sasuke groaned. "Don't you ever get tired of saying that?" he muttered, his eyes suddenly shifting to blood red as he activated the Sharingan.

Akira laughed. "Oh, let him have his quirks. It keeps him at least relatively quiet." He caught one ninja's arm and tossed him high over his shoulder. "Catch, Sasuke!" he called.

Sasuke nodded. "Using the enemy's momentum against them. So that's how you caught Lee once." He blew into his hand, and a lance of flame shot out and hit the flying chunin square on.

Akira laughed. "Only once, mind you. I have to say, if that's the student, I don't think even my father could beat his master."

Naruto frowned. "Yeah. Too bad it has to end." He yelped as several clones were hit and vanished in puffs of smoke.

Akira threw a few hasty hand signs together, and on the other side of the group Sasuke quickly copied them. As the twin gales struck hard at the remaining chunin, Akira turned to look at Naruto. "I heard about his match. Gaara is truly a brutal opponent. But I don't think you need fear for Lee. I've known him for a long time, and the simple truth is that nothing will ever keep him from his ninja way. Nothing, understand? Even injuries as bad as he endured won't keep him still for long."

Naruto nodded, gritting his teeth, and formed more clones to continue the assault. "Man! How many of these guys are there?"

Akira shrugged, as Taro ran up. "Well, four eight-man squads, each with a jounin leader. Taro, Hinata and I already dispensed with most of one, except the leader, and you and Sasuke have already gotten three of them down, so that leaves… eighteen chunin and four jounin. But I imagine that since the other two squads attacked our village, their numbers will be significantly reduced."

Taro grinned at Naruto. "Hey, hey, if it isn't the master joker of Konoha! Let's see how a combo between you and me, the master joker of Yukigakure, goes, huh?" He whispered in Naruto's ear.

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, let's get them!" He drew out a slip of paper, and initiated another Shadow Clone Jutsu. Grinning, the clones stood still as Taro cast a Fireball Jutsu directly at them. Akira blinked. "Now, Akira, if you please?" Naruto said, still grinning.

Akira stared, and then his eyes widened. "Oh, I see now. Amazingly, that's a pretty good idea." He initiated a Gale Jutsu just behind the clones. "Since fire chakra negates wind, I can't dispel the fireball with Taishippu. In fact, the wind will make the fire even stronger. Which means…"

Naruto grinned. "Hey, ladies and gentlemen! Without further ado…"

"We bring you the first ever combination jutsu of Uzumaki Naruto and Kyoushin Taro!" chimed in Taro.

"Here goes! Clone Fire Bomber Attack!" Caught up in the powerful winds, the burning, grinning clones flew at the remaining enemies. They scattered as the clones smashed into the snow among them, still very much on fire. The jounin leader yelped and suddenly leapt back, just in time to avoid the blast as the letter bombs each clone was holding ignited in a colossal explosion. Naruto grinned as the smoke cleared, revealing four unconscious chunin and about ten quickly vanishing clones. "Oh yeah! Dattebayo! And now!" He glared over at the squad leader. "So, you escaped our attack, huh? Well, no ninja I've faced has ever escaped this move! Here goes… my Harem Jutsu!"

A vein pulsed in Sasuke's temple. "You've got to be kidding me. Forget this; I'm going to go check on Hinata and Sakura."

Akira sighed. Naruto laughed. "Yeah, you'd better run, Sasuke! Even you wouldn't survive if you got caught by this!" Sasuke groaned again and dashed off down the hill. Naruto smiled. "Sure you want to stay, Akira, Taro?"

Taro grinned. "Hey, the ultimate attack of Konoha's ultimate trickster? You bet I'll stay!"

Akira shrugged. "Why not? This ought to be interesting, if nothing else."

Naruto laughed again. "Sure thing! I promise to give you a good show! Now here I come, you big jerk! Taju Kagebunshin no Jutsu!"

Akira blinked as what seemed to be a thousand shadow doppelgangers appeared around the enemy. "Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu? Where did that come from?"

The jounin in the center threw off his cloak and laughed. "A thousand weakling genin are still nothing but weakness, little boy. I, Kaminari Shiro, will drive that lesson deep into your brain- right before you die!"

The laughter of a thousand Narutos echoed around the flat space. "Don't be stupid, Shura, or whatever your name is. This is only stage one. Now for stage two- Henge no Jutsu, Uzumaki Naruto variant! 'Sexy' Jutsu!"

Akira cringed. "Oh no, not this move…"

Taro blinked. "'Sexy' Jutsu? Never heard of that one…" He cut off as the thousand Narutos suddenly transformed into a thousand gorgeous blonde women, each in various alluring poses. Taro stared for a moment at the women, then toppled over backwards with a massive nosebleed.

The original Naruto, who had hung back for no real reason except to tease the two brothers, shifted his- or rather, her body provocatively. "What's the matter, Akira? Don't like women?"

Akira glanced over at the young woman, and her outfit (or lack thereof- a wreath of smoke was the only thing protecting her from the elements). "No, that's not the problem. I just have an absurd measure of self-control, that's all. I have to say, it's pretty effective. And humiliating, for the opponent." A single drop of blood oozed from one of Akira's nostrils, and he wiped it away. "Hmm… it would seem that even I have my limits when it comes to women."

Naruto stopped posing and stared. "You're kidding me, right? Every single guy I've tested this on has absolutely no chance."

Akira grinned. "Well, I confess I have an advantage. I've trained myself specifically against this move. I heard the story of Ebisu's defeat from Konohomaru last time I was in Konoha, so I made sure to prepare myself in case I ever found myself facing it." He looked over as the rest of the clones assaulted the drooling, slack-jawed enemy leader. "As I said, effective. Aren't you cold like that, though?"

Naruto blinked, shivered violently, and quickly changed back to normal in a puff of smoke. "Um… good point." He laughed at the sight of Taro lying dazed on the snow. "Hey, come on, Taro. That's not very becoming of a member of the Kyoushin clan!"

Taro struggled to his feet, blood still trickling from his nose. "So many… so pretty…" he mumbled, dazed. Akira and Naruto looked at each other, then collapsed to the snow in fits of laughter. Taro stumbled and rolled down the bowl, nearly colliding with Sasuke at the bottom. Akira and Naruto laughed even harder. "Oh boy…" mumbled Akira. "All right, now, we really should head back towards the village. It's probably the safest place to be right now. And it looks like Hinata's back on her feet…" The two ran down towards the others.