At the bottom of the bowl, Naruto sighed. "Oh, Taro. What are we going to do with you, huh? You'll never beat me as top trickster if something as simple as that can break you."

Hinata looked at Akira. "What happened up there, anyway?"

Akira's mouth twitched. "Well… Naruto took out the enemy squad leader, that's the important part. Trust me when I say you don't really want to know more than that."

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah… sorry, Hinata, but that's a trade secret."

Hinata blushed and touched her lip with one hand. "Oh… okay then, Naruto. If you say so." She smiled shyly.

Naruto shrugged. "Well, now that that's settled, Akira thought we should probably head back towards the village. I kind of agree with him. There's no ramen out here, and beating up Cloud ninja sure works up an appetite."

Taro rubbed the back of his head. "Sure does, Naruto! Let's go make sure those Cloud idiots haven't messed with our stash!"

Akira and Sasuke exchanged a momentary glance. A moment later, Naruto and Taro were both lying in the snow, clutching their heads. Akira grinned and tapped his clenched fist against Sasuke's. "Nice shot, Sasuke."

Sakura sighed. "Boys…"

Naruto leapt up and glared at Sasuke. Taro just grinned sheepishly up at Akira. "Shall we get going, then?" Akira said calmly, helping his brother to his feet.

A cruel laugh cut in from above. "Oh, it's too late for anything like that, I'm afraid." Mizuiro smirked down at them as a large shape slowly wheeled up beside him.

Akira stared up at him. "What on earth have you got this time?"

Mizuiro laughed. "Behold, the fruits of Squad Three's and Squad Four's labors! The powerful weapons of death your people had hid away are now ours to command… And this is where it ends for you all!"

Akira's eyes shot wide as the shape came to a stop, and the moonlight fell directly on it. "No… you couldn't have!" His ear twitched as he heard the sound of machinery. He dashed between Sasuke and Naruto, who were closest. "Get down!" he shouted, and shoved them both to the ground. He glared up at Mizuiro. "I won't let you cowards hurt them! Taishippu no Jutsu!"

High above, the monstrous war machine activated and began to spit hundreds of kunai from its strange, honeycombed front. The gale caught them head on. Akira maintained it as long as he could, until the machine stopped to take on more ammunition. He panted from the strain as he released the chakra. Mizuiro grinned smugly. "Not bad, kid. There's a reason you're the heir to the clan, I suppose. But you still lose!" He spun to a group of ninja on the far ridge. "Fire the first Lancer barrage! Show these punks who they're dealing with!"

Akira spun to these new enemies. "What?" he shouted desperately, staring at the weapon two of them held. Lancers, he thought frantically. I thought Father made them stop the production of those accursed things! The weapon, a compact version of the large gun that Akira had stopped, opened up, directly at Hinata. There was no time to initiate another gale, and Akira was too tired anyway. He smiled wryly. "No choice, then," he said softly, as he leapt and landed directly in front of her. "Don't worry, Hinata," he said aloud. "I said I'd protect you with everything I am, and I intend to keep that promise." He slid his blade out of its sheath in a quick diagonal slash, sending a wave of wind chakra scything towards the Lancer. It took out perhaps five of the fifty kunai whistling towards him, and then went on and reduced the Lancer to splinters. One chunin collapsed, clutching his nearly severed arm. Akira regarded all this with a soft smile, his arms outstretched, as the rest of the kunai struck directly into his body with a sickening sound. Even as he fell backwards, the smile never left his lips.

Hinata was instantly by his side, tears streaming from her eyes. "Hey, don't worry, Hinata," Akira said softly. "I stopped them from hitting anything vital." He paused to yank a cluster of kunai out of his right shoulder, groaning as they slid out with a loud shunk. "Come on, are you worried that something like this is going to stop me?" He pulled out a few more kunai, from his leg this time. "Though, I would appreciate it if you guys could get these kunai out. They hurt a great deal, actually."

Hinata began yanking out kunai immediately, tears falling onto Akira's face. "If I'd known… that this was what you meant by 'everything I am'… I would have…" she sobbed.

"Done what, exactly?" Akira asked, that same smile on his face. "There was nothing you could do to stop me from doing what I did. My comrades are too precious to me to let them die in such an ignoble way." Especially you, he thought. "Naruto… Sasuke… Sakura. I'm going to probably pass out soon. I'm going to have to depend on you to keep Hinata safe. Taro…" Their eyes locked. "You understand, right? Regardless of how tough I am, I will not survive if they catch me. They've already expressed an interest in our Tsukigan ability. Once the others are safe, I'm going to depend on you to get me out of here."

Taro was staring with wide eyes at his brother. "You… you really do deserve the title of heir, Akira. Bushido or not, you truly are my better in every way. And you think that I can protect you?"

Akira laughed. "Of course. You're the heir to the Kyoushin clan now, Taro. Father chose you for a reason, and not just because you're his only other son. You're a lot stronger than you think. I can feel safe, trusting myself to you."

Sasuke shook his head. "Akira… I understand how you feel. But that's just not a viable option now." He turned to Hinata. "You've recovered from that wound, right, Hinata?" She nodded wordlessly. "Then we need you to get Akira out of here. Sakura, Taro, you go as an escort. Naruto, you and I will deal with these punks."

Hinata shook her head vigorously. "No, no, no! Anybody who stays here is going to die! And I can't bear for that to happen!" She looked down at Akira. "And you, Akira… your lung's been punctured…"

Akira sighed. "A lucky shot. It still won't kill me, you know." He raised himself laboriously up on one arm. "But I imagine that's not the only reason you're so worried. Fine, then." He brought one arm in front of his face and focused his chakra.

Nothing happened. Akira gasped in shock. "What?"

Hinata shook her head. "Your injuries closed some chakra points. You won't be able to cast anything for a while."

Akira shook his head. "What to do… what to do… if we stay, we're done for, but if we flee, I'll slow us down and the Cloud will catch up and kill us anyway…" He sat up, a determined look in his eyes. "Hinata. I need you to force open the first two gates for me."

Hinata stared. "What? But…"

Akira shook his head. "I've run through the possibilities, and this is the only choice that leaves us all alive at the end of it. I'll probably regret it later, but right now, I need those gates open. I can perform a partial healing on myself, and then get us out of here under cover of that same technique I used earlier."

Sasuke shook his head. "In any case, we fight. Healing jutsus take time to complete. And besides, we can't just leave that hulk up there lumbering around."

Akira nodded. "Fine, but watch yourself. You've seen that thing's capabilities already. I'm sorry. I thought every single one of those things was burned long ago."

Hinata stared around at all of them. "You… you're serious. All of you."

Sakura smiled. "Well, of course. They're boys, Hinata. You can't stop them from fighting on with everything they've got."

Naruto grinned, flicking shuriken at the chunin loading the Hulk. "Of course you can't! Hinata, come on. We need Akira up and running at least for a little bit if we're going to have a chance at making it out of here."

Hinata wiped her eyes, her hands shaking. "A-all right, then. If you say so… Naruto."

Akira smiled, then lay back in the snow. "I'm ready, Hinata. And don't worry. I've seen your skills. You're more than ready to try something like this."

Hinata nodded, then struck hard at a single spot on his chest. "First gate, release!" she yelled. Akira's body jerked upwards on the snow, then settled back. His eyes shot from grey to ice blue in moments. He nodded breathlessly. "Second gate… release!" Hinata shouted, a little surer this time.

Akira's body jerked hard upwards, bending nearly in two, before he suddenly leapt to his feet, energized. He grinned wildly. "Thanks, Hinata. All right. Taro, keep an eye on the girls. Sasuke, Naruto, do whatever you can to stop those loaders and destroy the Hulk. And I…" He bit hard into his thumb. "Forgive me, great heart. I know one such as me is unworthy to even speak your name, but even so I beg your help." A fierce look came into his eyes. Naruto watched with wide eyes as he ran through a familiar sequence of signs. "Kuchiyose! Summoning!" Akira called.

In a rush of smoke, a beautiful red bird appeared before him, a kind look in its eyes. It opened its beak and spoke in a voice of almost painful sweetness. "Do not think yourself so low, Kyoushin Akira. To place your comrades' lives before bushido is not cowardice at all. I am honored to fight by your side."

Akira smiled, initiating another jutsu. "I am afraid I am too wounded to fight with you, Shinkai, great phoenix of the mountain. Instead, I need you to protect these two and help them to fight. They are Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and I have only respect for them."

Shinkai nodded, and took to the air. Naruto hmphed. "Hey! I can do that too!" He bit into his thumb and flew through five hand signs. "Kuchiyose!" Come on, be a frog this time! he yelled in his mind. A puff of smoke revealed…

A tadpole. Naruto groaned. "Not again! Why doesn't a toad ever show up?"

Sasuke smirked. "What's wrong, Naruto? Can't even master that? What happened to the crazy maverick who defeated Gaara?" He turned his back. "Shinkai, let's leave this loser to stew. If that's all he has to offer, he'll be better off watching the girls with Taro."

Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Shut up, Sasuke! I can do it! Dattebayo!"

He yelped as Shinkai landed gently on his shoulder. "Young one… perhaps it is best if you listen to your friend, and stay here. Your knowledge of kuchyose is good, but incomplete."

Naruto glared straight into the bird's eyes. "No. I'm not staying out of this fight, no matter what you say!"

He bit his right thumb this time, initiating the signs as Shinkai gently let some of his chakra flow into Naruto. "Then I will help you, young one. Call it, then! Call the toad!"

Naruto nodded. "I did it once before… Come on! Kuchiyose! Summoning!" From the swirling mists before him rose a toad as large as a man. Naruto lit up. "Awesome! Thanks, bird! It's not as big as it usually is, but still, I can do something with this by my side!" He laughed. "Besides, Gamabunta can be a real jerk sometimes."

Shinkai took off, a little miffed at being called "bird", as Naruto leapt onto the back of his toad. Sasuke blinked. "Okay… I'll admit it, not bad, Naruto." He charged headlong down the snow, dashing seemingly every which way. "But let's see how excited you get when I show you my technique!"

"Hey, wait for me!" Naruto yelled.

Akira chuckled as his hands shone with chakra, and he laid them flat on his chest. He lay down with his head turned towards the two girls. "You two okay?" he said weakly. "Pardon me if I don't speak much for a while. This healing jutsu takes a lot out of the caster, but it lets the target remain awake while it works." He sighed and lay back. "Don't worry about them. Shinkai is a powerful ally who has fought alongside our family for generations. And of course, that's Naruto and Sasuke out there."

Sakura giggled. "For someone who says he needs rest, you sure talk a lot, Akira."

Akira chuckled softly. "Sorry. I'll be quiet now. For your sakes, and so Hinata will stop crying. You know you're a lot cuter when you're smiling, don't you?"

Taro grinned and made a kissy-face at Akira from behind Hinata's back. Sakura glared at him and knocked him over with a snowball. Oblivious to the tussle behind her, Hinata blushed and said, "T-thank you, Akira. But… you really should rest…"

Akira chuckled again. "Yes, ma'am." He fell silent, gazing up at the stars with calm eyes, storm-grey once again.

Up above, a loud yell came. "Reloading complete, Mizuiro, sir!"

Mizuiro laughed. "Sorry, little boy! Looks like your grand plans have failed!" He spun to the device. "Fire at will!"

Naruto grinned. "Oh no you don't! Kagebunshin no Jutsu! Now, face the Uzumaki Clone Wall technique!"

Sasuke smacked his forehead. "Please tell me you're kidding, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head. "No way, Sasuke! Watch and learn!" About a hundred clones appeared in the snow around Naruto's leaping toad, then jumped together into a big pile. After a bit of fighting and arguing, the group formed themselves into a human wall just in front of the Hulk. Akira stared. That… just might work.

Mizuiro laughed. "Pitiful! Fire the Hulk, now!" Thousands of kunai shot out and struck into the wall of clones. Naruto grinned, and initiated another quick jutsu as the clones began to topple backwards and disperse. Before the machine had finished with the first wall, another leapt up in its place, the myriad clones grinning even as kunai pelted into them. Mizuiro stared. "K-keep firing, blast it!" he shouted, as the second wall collapsed as well.

"Sorry, sir! The cannon's out of ammo again!" called one of the operators.

"Well, then load it up again, before I load you into it!" he spat back. "Come on, you idiots! This is the ultimate anti-ninja weapon! Don't tell me you're going to let a bunch of genin brats take it out!"

Sasuke shook his head as he shot by Mizuiro and attacked the chunin operating the machine. As he reached them, he seemed to explode into a flurry of flying fists that quickly dispatched the loader on the left side. "If we were just any old genin, we probably would have a problem. As things stand, though, you've got the last Uchiha, the world's quirkiest ninja, and a phoenix attacking you. I'd say you're the one in trouble."

Shinkai shot past Mizuiro, a jet of flame striking from his mouth into the Hulk's main body. "Naruto! I need you to handle the leader, while Sasuke and I take this thing apart!"

Naruto grinned. "Can do, bird!" He yelped as a jet of flame shot past his shoulder. "Geez! All right, all right, can do, Shinkai. All right, Gama! Charge!" The toad's tongue whipped out and slapped Mizuiro hard across the face. Mizuiro let out a loud "ugh!" before leaping to attack Naruto head-on. Naruto drew out a set of shuriken and launched them at Mizuiro, but he laughed and blocked them with a swift slash of his kunai. Naruto grinned. "All right! This is going to be fun!"

Shinkai, meanwhile, swooped down on a chunin that was sneaking up on Sasuke from behind. "Keep an eye out behind you, young one," he said calmly, as he flapped his wings and caught the enemy in a wash of flame.

Sasuke shook his head. "Hey, keep them coming. I need to work up some energy before I can use this."

Shinkai replied by grabbing the chunin in his claws and dropping him right in front of Sasuke, who promptly smashed him back to the ground. "Almost ready…" Sasuke mused. "What about Naruto?"

Shinkai motioned behind them, to where Naruto was now attacking Mizuiro with five clones. "I don't think we need to worry about him, for the moment. Just concentrate on finishing this machine while Naruto keeps him busy."

Sasuke nodded, and then leapt lightly up the side of the Hulk and over the top. A loud thwack came from the other side, followed by a short cry as Sasuke dispatched the last loader. He grinned. "Finally! Hey, Naruto, check this out!"

"Watch this first, Sasuke! You missed my match with Kiba, so you shouldn't miss this move again!" Naruto grinned, dodged a blade attack from Mizuiro, and kicked him hard in the chest. "U!" Then, three clones slid in and kicked him upwards. "Zu! Ma! Ki!" The real Naruto leapt off of the top of the Hulk, then slammed down on Mizuiro's face with a mighty kick, knocking him face-first into the snow. "Naruto Barrage!"

Sasuke ran a hand down his face. "You've got to be kidding me. That's the move you beat Kiba with? That mockery of my Lions Combo?" He sighed. "Well, whatever. You know the snow will make that a lot less effective, right?"

Naruto scowled and stomped hard on Mizuiro's back as he tried to get up. "Come on, now it's your turn. Show me what you've got!"

Sasuke scowled. "With pleasure. These losers want lightning, I'll give it to them." He leapt directly away from the Hulk, and made several quick signs. "Now… Chidori! Go!" Chakra crackled in his palm as he charged the machine, then lit up brightly as he thrust it forward and into its innards. The resulting explosion blew clear out the other side. Mizuiro yelled in despair as the Hulk buckled, then began to collapse in on itself. Naruto leapt clear just in time, as the wreckage fell forward on top of Mizuiro.

Naruto grinned. "Wow, Sasuke! That really was cool! Just like Kakashi-sensei did in the Land of Waves, and like you did against Gaara that one time!"

Sasuke smirked. "What's this? A complement from Naruto? I'm flattered."

Behind him, the wreckage heaved and shook. A blade of green energy shone briefly as Mizuiro emerged, eyes blazing. "Lancers! Open fire now!"

Sasuke and Naruto leapt swiftly back towards the others as Shinkai dove to attack Mizuiro. "Incoming! Everybody duck!" shouted Naruto wildly.

Akira struggled quickly to his feet. "No time left, it seems." He began to make a hand sign, but suddenly the snow flew apart in front of him. Akira gasped as a robed figure emerged and drew out a strange, long blade that seemed taller than Katsura himself. "Father?" Akira breathed.

Katsura smiled tightly. "Akira. If there was ever a time to use that dishonorable move of yours, now is the time. I won't be able to protect more than one of you, even with this blade of mine." Akira stared at his father with disbelief. "You heard me. Get going." He turned and smiled. "I guess I might have been wrong. Shinkai answers only to those he considers to be true members of the Kyoushin clan." He turned, and slashed a flying group of kunai from the air. "Now go! I'll handle these cowards!" he shouted.

Akira nodded, focusing hard. Petals swirled around the five friends. "Now, while we're hidden! Let's go!" he called. Suddenly, he stumbled. Hinata caught him and put one arm over her shoulder. He blushed slightly, though nobody noticed it. "All right, then. I know a place we can hide." He pointed weakly. "That way. Hinata and I will take the lead, since I know the way."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as they dashed off in the indicated direction. "You stopped calling her 'Lady' Hinata. When did that happen, eh Akira?"

Akira shook his head. "We can talk later. Right now, we need to keep going. Turn left a little bit, Hinata." They sped on through the night, the moon slowly sinking in the sky as they ran on and on.

Author's Notes: The "Hulk" is actually taken from clips I've seen from Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, but the Lancer is of my own design. I thought it appropriate to use it, seeing as once again the characters are in that area.

As for Katsura's blade... hehe, yeah... I just couldn't resist having the Kyoushin leader's blade be the Masamune. .