Author's notes:

Before the start of this chapter I would like to thank those few who reviewed this story of mine. Domo arigato gozaimasu, thank you very much! Truth be told, I was hoping to get more reviews, but… Oh well, at least the ones I got very really encouraging! Thank you, you wonderful people!

As said, I won't reveal the pairings just yet (actually, I won't likely reveal them at all, but they will become more or less apparent sooner or later), Sexy Black Neko, but Gaara will play a relatively significant part in this story, although he will have both ups and downs. Then again, the same can be said about many other characters.

Sam, HeartAngel, I glad that you liked this so much! Sorry if I didn't update it as soon as you hoped; it usually takes me a little more month to write a chapter (and it can be even longer if I suffer from author's block, lack of inspiration or some other unexpected delay), but I will try my best to update this story of mine as quickly as I will be able to.

Also, I would like to say sorry to all Sakura's fans, because Sakura won't show up in this chapter; she is still in Suna, and this chapter will focus on events that are taking place in Konoha. But I hope that you will be patient enough to wait until Sakura will make an appearance once again (which will happen in the next chapter).

Chapter Two

Dangerous Beauty, Crisis Finds Jiraiya!

"Rasengan!"

With a shout Naruto struck a blow, blowing a neat hole appeared in the nearby tree. "And that is supposed to be training."

Usually Naruto welcomed training to the point of staying in wilderness for weeks, but recently Naruto couldn't help feeling that he has already perfected this technique. Well, his control over the amount of Chakra he used probably wasn't quite perfect, but then again, this was probably true to every other technique he used. And besides, didn't the Perverted Hermit tell him that with amount of Chakra he had he didn't have to worry much about Chakra control?

But each time Naruto tried to approach Perverted Hermit and ask to teach him some new technique, Perverted Hermit always replied that he should practice more with techniques he already knew before moving to something new. Probably just an excuse so that he could go about his perverted business without Naruto bothering him.

Naruto frowned. After the last adventure and learning Rasengan Naruto was overjoyed when Perverted Hermit offered to be his full-time teacher. At least it was so at first. But as months passed and no new techniques were learned, Naruto was beginning to wonder if having Perverted Hermit as his full-time teacher was all that good. Perhaps Perverted Hermit already taught him everything he could and just didn't want to admit it?

And as Naruto was beginning to doubt the benefit of training under Perverted Hermit, he was beginning to miss Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei and even Sasuke. Naruto didn't like that, even if it was for the sake of training and even though Perverted Hermit explained to him that it was quite natural for teams to break into pairs once they accumulated enough experience; not only this usually helped with further training, but it also provided better flexibility when it was need to form a specialized team for some specific mission. So Sasuke was now with Kakashi-sensei, and Sakura-chan… Well… Naruto was forced to admit that he never thought who Sakura-chan was paired with.

"Perhaps Kakashi-sensei gave her Ebisu?" Naruto wondered, and his frown immediately deepened when he imagined HIS Sakura-chan with that pervert. "NEVER! Kakashi-sensei would have never done it, now when he knows what a pervert Ebisu is! Still, I wonder who Sakura-chan is paired with?.. Perhaps I should ask Tsunade-obachan the next time I'm in Konoha?.."

One of the reasons Naruto didn't see his friends often these days was because her didn't show up in Konoha all that often; most of the time his training trips into the forests that surrounded Konoha lasted for a week or so. And it seemed that most of the Rookie Nine were on more or less similar schedule; with the state Konoha was currently in, even Genin were either training intensively or going on the missions.

"Oh well, either way, I better go on with the training for what it's worth." Naruto thought, "The next time I see Sakura-chan, she's gonna be impressed for sure! And if that Perverted Hermit will for once take a break from his perverted activities and teach me something new…"

"He he he he he!..."

The famous Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Three couldn't hide his delight. He always liked this particular spot when it came to gathering his "research material", but today was definitely his lucky day! With delight he watched a young girl as she bathed in a small lake by the waterfall, her clothes discarded on the shore. Though she was still very young, around twelve or thirteen years of age, she already developed feminine curves as well as other notable… assets. "Yes, that's definitely top-class material!"

"Ano… Jisan, I don't think that's what the man of your age should be doing…" A feminine voice said from behind him.

Jiraiya turned, and this time his mouth fall open; if the girl in the lake was top-class material, then the one before him was one of the most beautiful girls he has ever seen, and he saw quite a few. She was somewhat older then the one in the lake, probably around eighteen or so, actually more of a young woman then a girl. The dark blue one-piece swimsuit perfectly accented her flawless fair skin, her long silvery-grey hair fall like a waterfall behind her shoulders and her deep brown eyes were like two bottomless bits a man couldn't help falling into. A slight blush playing on her beautiful face completed the picture of absolute perfection, even if she looked more then a little reserved – this definitely wasn't the kind of situation she was used to.

Yet, as Jiraiya looked at the young woman, a mental alarm sounded in his head. He didn't live over fifty years by being overly careless, and no matter how beautiful the young woman looked, he felt danger coming from her. The blush looked to be genuine, but there definitely was a feeling of power about her, despite her attempts to hide it.

"So, they keep sending beautiful women after me." Jiraiya thought, smiling inwardly, "I LIKE THAT! But I wonder who did it this time? Akatsuki or Orochimaru?.."

"Ano… Jisan," The young woman's voice interrupted his thoughts, "I wonder if you would like to spend some time with me. That girl probably wouldn't like it if she learns that you were watching her, but I…" The young woman's blush deepened, "…I guess I wouldn't mind it too much…"

Yet in contrast with her words, the young woman's gaze was forcefully cold. "To hide her uncertainness, no doubt." Jiraiya guessed "She would definitely look more appealing if she didn't do that, but I guess I shouldn't be too choosy."

With a huge grin, Jiraiya took the young woman's outstretched hand and allowed her to lead him away from his hiding place.

"Even if it's a trap she is leading me to, I am more then match for everything they can throw at me." Jiraiya thought, "Besides, if I don't follow her, I won't find out who are after me and why. Not to mention that it never hurts to enjoy some company while it lasts."

But as Jiraiya allowed the young woman to lead him along the river, another thought came to him, "But what if it's not me they're after? What if it's Naruto?"

"Sorry, girl, I'm afraid I have a friend to visit. How about another time?" Saying this, Jiraiya let go of her hand… Or at last tried, because he was surprised to find out that his hand was as if bound to young woman's.

"No way…" Jiraiya's eyes opened wide when he realized that his entire body was bound in nearly invisible Chakra strings. "She must have done it while we were still walking and relaxed her strings to allow me to walk normally until now… And all without my noticing it! This girl is more powerful then I have thought!"

"You have no choice." The young woman looked at Jiraiya, with none of her supposed uncertainness about her. "You may be one of the Legendary Three, but you won't be able to fight me now. It will be the best for both of us if you come peacefully."

"For you maybe, but not for me!" Chakra strings cut deeply into Jiraiya's body as he struggled to break free, but they were no match for him. First one, then another… one by one the strings, broke, allowing Jiraiya to jump away from his opponent to catch his breath.

But as he broke free from the strings, another unpleasant surprise was waiting for Jiraiya, as he suddenly felt completely exhausted. As if his Chakra was drained…

"What have you done?" This time Jiraiya couldn't help speaking his thoughts out loud. "It is not possible to drain so much Chakra in so little time. Or have you..."

"Yes, I began draining your Chakra the moment you took my hand, at the same time providing you with temporal energy boost, so that you wouldn't feel anything."

"You are… A medic-nin?"

"No, in my homeland, we don't have division into medic-nin. One who knows how to heal also knows how to harm. I suggest you give up before I am forced to harm you."

"Ha, a man can't give in to a girl, no matter how beautiful she is! Rasengan!"

But as Jiraiya charged at the young woman, the faint sound filled the area around them…

"Huh?"

…And Jiraiya's Rasengan suddenly struck an invisible and seemingly impenetrable that formed around the young woman.

"This is Shield of Sound technique." The young woman explained as she watched Jiraiya's surprised face. "You will not be able to break through it, especially in your current state. You should have… No way!"

With last final note the sound ceased, and surprised young woman saw Jiraiya's Rasengan-wielding hand rushing towards her. Her surprise lasted for but a moment, but that was all Jiraiya needed…

SPLASH!

"Nani?"

Still surprised, the young woman followed Jiraiya with her eyes as he flew through the air before landing in the river. Then she half-turned to look at another man who now stood beside her.

He was a well-built middle-aged man, with black hair and dark blue eyes. He was dressed in dark gray pants and jacket and also wore sturdy leather bracers and leggings as well as standard-issue ninja sandals. On his forehead he openly wore his hitai-ate, his forehead protector, with the symbol of the Hidden Sound Village upon it.

"Hiroshi, why are you here?" The young woman still sounded a bit surprised as she addressed her former companion.

"I just wanted to make sure you are alright."

"I would have dealt with him myself."

"I don't doubt it. Still, I thought it would be best if we capture him with as little troubles as possible."

The young woman cast a momentary glance at the river, where Jiraiya was no doubt busy swimming for his life even as they spoke.

"He might get away."

"I know you won't let him." Hiroshi's usually serious expression broke into one of his rare smiles.

The young woman didn't reply. Although she had no doubt that she would eventually overcome weakened Sannin, the young woman still appreciated Hiroshi's aid. And besides, he was right.

The young woman turned away from her companion, closed her eyes and outstretched her arm towards the river. Hiroshi watched in fascination as nearly invisible Chakra strings shot from the young woman's hand and merged with surface of water; even though he was ten years her senior, the young woman's techniques never failed to impress him. And against this technique, even one of the Legendary Three would be helpless.

He was usually very alert, but with his attention consumed by his beautiful companion, Hiroshi failed to notice the slight rustle of leaves at some distance…

"That's not good."

Though Jiraiya always considered water his element, in his current exhausted state swimming wasn't easy for him. And pain in his left side, which the new foe's fist came in contact with didn't help either.

Nevertheless, Jiraiya has already managed to put quite a distance between himself and his foes, but he knew that problems wouldn't stop here.

"Even if it was me they were after, I better find Naruto quickly, just in case. And then… Huh?"

Jiraiya's thoughts were cut short when a sudden current picked him and carried him onward. It took him a few seconds to remember, that there weren't, couldn't be a current as strong as this in this part of the river. And even in his exhausted state, he quickly came to the only possible conclusion: "They are somehow able to control the river! That's twice as bad!"

With his last ounce of strength Jiraiya tried to struggle against the current, but all in vain; the current was simply to strong for him to fight against. And as if things weren't bad enough, his ears picked the distant sound of the falling water…

"Damn, how could I forget there was another waterfall downstream?"

But that realization did nothing to help Jiraiya, as the current continued carrying him downstream at increasing speed. And after a few more minutes of hopeless struggle, Jiraiya found himself thrown in the air and falling down towards a small lake bellow the waterfall.

Jiraiya tried to group himself for a fall, but it turned out to be unnecessary as a stream of water shot from the river above and caught Jiraiya like a giant hand. Jiraiya relief at his rescue was fleeting, though, as the next moment the stream of water slammed him hard into the lake. Still, the blow wasn't as hard as if has been if Jiraiya was left in his fall.

"I guess she doesn't want to get rid of me just yet. Heh, she must have fallen for my charms! But what…"

Jiraiya's thoughts were cut short as he slowly recovered from the blow and realized that he was on the lake's shore now, and more importantly – he was starring at someone's sandaled feet. Still stunned by the force of the blow, Jiraiya slowly looked up at the person before him: dark gray pants and jacket, lean muscled body, black sunglasses, white hair, forehead protector with symbol of the Hidden Sound Village upon it…

The stranger slowly took his sunglasses off, revealing a pair of large fully-black eyes that met Jiraiya's…

"That's it, I just cannot fight anymore. Perhaps it would be best if I just… Wait! What the heck am I thinking about! The Great Jiraiya won't go down without a fight!"

"I am sorry that you feel that way, old man."

With great effort, Jiraiya got to his feet and began forming Rasengan in his hand…

Too slow! Before his Rasengan was fully formed, the stranger unleashed a flurry of blows and kicks upon him, which exhausted Jiraiya had no way of dodging or blocking. The beating lasted for about half a minute, before particularly powerful kick thrown Jiraiya back into shallow water where he drifted into unconsciousness…

"Yasao got him."

The young woman opened her eyes, but hasn't yet turned to her companion.

"'The three of us… Just like the old times, eh?'" Although her expression remained nearly emotionless, the young woman smiled inwardly. "Yes, that's what he'll say."

Hiroshi hasn't changed a bit since they first met some six years ago, but the young woman certainly didn't mind that. He was one of the few constants in her life, and the young woman learned to value such things.

"Well, that's good."

"Hmm…" The young woman turned to her companion, and saw him shifting a bit uneasily under her gaze. "Are you alright, Hiroshi?"

"Of course, I am."

She turned away, and for a moment, a slight frown crossed her face.

"Very well, we are going back to the camp then."

And the two of them went off, leaving the unconscious body of a young blond girl behind, well-hidden in tree's branches…

By the time they arrived there, the small camp was bustling with activity; the order to break up was already given.

By now she changed from her swimsuit into her usual outfit: black pants, dark blue short-sleeved shirt and standard-issue ninja sandals. Her hitai-ate with the symbol of the Hidden Sound Village now graced the young woman's forehead.

The young woman firmly leaded Hiroshi to where their other old friend was waiting. And speaking of him, there he was, just standing there amidst the activity with usual air of superiority about him. But that was a part of her friend the young woman learned to accept.

As he noticed the approaching pair, Yasao, the man who apprehended Jiraiya earlier, stepped towards them.

"Everything goes according to the plan." Yasao said instead of greetings.

He was about to continue when he noticed something strange about the young woman's expression. Yasao took his sunglasses off and looked at met the young woman's eyes for a moment before turning his gaze on her companion. Again, Hiroshi shifted a bit uneasily when those strange black eyes looked into his…

But thankfully, the eye contact lasted for but a few moments.

"Alright, follow me," Yasao said, nodding to the young woman before turning away from the pair. "I will fill you into my future plans before you proceed with your orders."

Without questions, Hiroshi and his female companion followed Yasao into his tent. Once inside, Yasao took out a scroll and unrolled it on a small table, revealing it to be a very detailed map of Hi no Kuni, Land of Fire.

Yasao motioned for them to gather around the map, and when they did, he spoke, "Alright, as you could see we are already in process of breaking up. We will shift our camp here…" Yasao pointed the location on the map, "…To the northern border of Hi no Kuni. I presume two of you have other missions to accomplish, and without you it would be too risky for us to try crossing the border. Therefore, we'll wait for reinforcements, and once they arrive, we'll smuggle Jiraiya across the border. There are a lot of things we'd like him to tell us before he dies."

"Wouldn't it be too risky to stay in Hi no Kuni?" The young woman asked, meeting Yasao's gaze, "Without Hiroshi and me at your side, your team will lack significant strength…"

"…That's why we shall remain in hiding until reinforcements arrive." Yasao finished for her. "There is nothing to worry about: we can easily detect and avoid large teams, and my team will be more then a match for against a smaller one. The only one who worries me is Sharingan no Kakashi, but the possibility that Konoha will send him after us is too slim to be even considered."

"Alright then, Hiroshi and I will take a three hour rest before we'll be off for our next mission."

Two hours and a half later…

"She is gone" Yasao said, looking into Hiroshi's eyes.

"She?"

"Yes, the presence in your mind was definitely female."

"You mean to tell me somebody took control of me? Without me even noticing it?"

"So, you didn't notice anything? She must be quite skilled to do that."

Hiroshi frowned. He knew that he could trust Yasao when it came to mental matters, but still…

"I saw the subtle signs as well." His female companion said. "She wasn't half bad imitating a harsh sound-nin, but without knowing all your little habits, she couldn't fool somebody who knows you for years."

"Anyway, it will only play in our favour in the end." Yasao commented, putting his sunglasses back on.

"Do you think she was from the Hidden Leaf?"

"That is most likely. Either that, or somebody else was keeping an eye on Jiraiya. In either case, somebody will surely come to the bait we thrown in, and if we are lucky, Sharingan no Kakashi will be among them. Kiyoko, I am leaving Jiraiya to you, while I'll report back to Otokage-sama. Hiroshi, are you ready to play your part?"

"I am always ready. Are you?" Hiroshi half-turned to look at three smaller figures stepping from the shadows…

"So, they were specifically worried about Hatake Kakashi?" Tsunade asked, as she looked at two young ninja and their teacher who stood in her office.

She frowned slightly when the oldest of the three nodded in agreement. Of course, Kakashi was one of the best, probably the best of Konoha's ninja, but still, it was a little strange that the enemies were worried about him alone.

"Could it be because of his Sharingan?" Tsunade wondered. "After all, Kakashi is one of Konoha's two remaining possessors of Sharingan. But while Uchiha Sasuke also learned to use his Sharingan, he hasn't yet perfected his skill with it as much as his teacher did. Either way, we were lucky to get this information, not to mention location where they intend to move their camp. And speaking of information…"

"How is Yamanaka Ino doing? If there is anything I can help with…"

"Thank you, Hokage-sama, but there is nothing to worry about. She suffered from major Chakra depletion, but I believe she will fully recover in a few days."

"After all, Ino maintained control over enemy's body with her Mind Body Switch Technique for almost half an hour… Although her fighting skills are still bellow average, Ino improved greatly in the past few months, especially when it comes to stamina and Chakra control. I am proud to have a student like her."

"Very well, you can go now."

After the solder ninja and his two students bowed and left, Tsunade turned to her friend and personal assistant, Shizune.

"Send someone to find Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke. It is time to get Team Kakashi together again."

Author's notes:

Now when this chapter is done, I would like to clarify a couple of points, which won't likely be explained in the following chapters.

First, the main reason why Jiraiya "neglected" Naruto's training (despite offering to be his full-time teacher) was that he wanted Naruto to begin coming up with techniques of his own. Unfortunately Naruto isn't very good when it comes to looking "underneath the underneath", so he just continued practicing with techniques he knew rather then trying to come up with new ones. Well, at least he fully perfected Rasengan technique, which will open a lot of possibilities for him in the future.

Second, yes, it was our lovely Ino-chan Jiraiya happened to be spying on. Hearing Jiraiya and Kiyoko's speaking (she is a ninja after all, something neither Jiraiya nor Kiyoko took into account), she got dressed and went to investigate, catching up with the two to witness the final part of their battle. Then, with Kiyoko busy and Hiroshi distracted, Ino used her Mind Body Switch Technique on Hiroshi… And the rest, I guess, is obvious.

Ja ne, until the next chapter! Speaking of which…

Preview of the next chapter:

It's about time Team Seven gets together for a new mission, and it's a B-rank mission too! What, Sakura-chan won't be coming with us! She is in that Sunagakure, and nobody even told me about it! Oh well, three of us will do well enough, although I really wanted to show Sakura-chan how strong I became… (incoherent mumble at the background) …Hey, Shikamaru, what do mean by… What! It's a trap! And we are heading straight into it too, and there is no way people in Konoha can warn us or send us someone to back us up! Coming next, "A B-Rank Mission or an A-Rank Trap! Team Kakashi's in Trouble!" Contact our ambassador in Sunagakure at once!