For once, I'm actually satisfied with one of my chapters. It's certainly not perfect, and I think there are things I need to do to make it better, but I think this is one of the better chapters I've ever written.

Enjoy, y'all.

"You ever do a line of salt before?"

"…what?"

Naruto, sitting on a plush couch, gave her a cockeyed look. "A line of salt. You know, put salt on a mirror or something, and then snort it."

Tayuya looked at him like he'd grown a second, more retarded head. "…no. I haven't. What the fuck, man."

He laughed. "I tried it once, just to say I did y'know?" He shook his head. "Hurts like a bitch. Took days for the sting to wear off. But you know what?"

She was very hesitant to reply…but knew he would tell her, regardless. "…what."

"You spend any amount of time by the sea, or any big body of salt water, and you get the same damned sensation." He rubbed his nose, looking out the window towards the pier which was bustling with people going about their business. "Fuckin' sucks, man. I love this country and its people, but…damn. Y'know? Just…damn."

After a moment, she shook her head and slouched further into the couch, propping her back up on Naruto's arm. "You are one weird motherfucker sometimes, you know that?"

"Of course. What, do you want some emo-boy with black hair flipped over one eye or something? I can do that, if you want." He pulled a bit of his blonde hair over one eye, with his face contorting into a look of whiny apathy. "Sometimes I like to dress up in women's clothing and masturbate while looking in the mirror."

Tayuya chuckled, despite herself. "Shit, that'd be hot to watch. I bet people'd pay money to see that…" she tapped her chin thoughtfully. "…you know, I wonder if Suzu would do that, or better yet, if Suzu did that, and then you walked in, and he was all like, 'Oh, don't look, I'm embarrassed', and you're all like, 'But, you're so cute…',and then he's all like –"

Quickly, Naruto slapped a hand over her mouth. "Don't even speak it. I don't want to hear it. My god, woman…you will never say that again."

Opening her mouth slightly, she bit the finger closest to her teeth, hard. He frowned and pulled his hand away. "Kinky…but did you really have to slobber all over my hand?"

"What's kinky mean?"

The door to the house they were in slammed shut, and Tayuya buried her face in her free hand. "Of course. You guys had to walk in the door exactly as he said that, didn't you?"

Yugito, standing behind a perplexed Usagi, laughed. "Aw, c'mon…just consider it practice for when you two lovebirds have munchkins of your own."

Through her fingers, Tayuya glared daggers at the catwoman. "I swear, I'll murder you."

Said catwoman glared right back. "You can try anytime."

Walking up beside him, Kankurou whistled under his breath. "Man…they always do this?"

Naruto shrugged casually. "Pretty much. They don't like each other. Some woman thing we aren't meant to understand, man."

Kankurou sighed and leaned up against a wall. "Amen to that." A smirk lit up his face. "…kinda hot though. All you'd need is some mud, some skimpy bikinis and a bunch of sake, and –"

Temari, seemingly omnipresent, thumped Kankurou's chest soundly, earning a wheezing cough. "Cut it with the pervy bullshit, eh? You're a grown-up now, start acting it."

"Fuck that shit." Kankurou rubbed his chest and pouted in Temari's direction. "Besides, how does he," he pointed at Naruto. "…get away with it, and I don't?"

The girl shrugged and sat down. "Woman shit, you weren't meant to understand."

Naruto put on his best, most roguish smile. "I'm just better looking. Around me, every guy is the wingman. Just a fact of life, dude. That's all."

"God I hate you sometimes." Kankurou rolled his eyes and sat down next to his sister. "God damned late bloomers."

The blonde 'late bloomer' just laughed.

Tayuya, now out of her death-staring match with Yugito, leaned back. "Right, well, now that we're all here and settled…anyone manage to find out anything?" She looked around the room. "…like where the fucking people who own this house are supposed to be? I mean, I like breaking into places as much as the next Shinobi, but I thought we were going for good-will here."

Temari, across the room in a separate couch shook her head. "Nada. At least, not without overtly asking someone 'Hey, where the fuck are they.' Everything's too busy around here to get any eavesdropping information from anyone."

Yugito, still leaning against a wall, nodded with a scowl. "Yeah. This place is like, the business hub of the entire country. I got a bunch of information on shipments of goods, a few criminal operations, and even some info on where the local brothels are…but nothing on this 'first family' of wave."

Naruto scowled. "That can't be right. With as much money as Tazuna makes these days, I'd assume he'd have his hands in just about everything around here." He tapped his knee absently, stifling a yawn. "Besides the fact, that if this is the place Ame set up to be the rendezvous location, you'd expect Tazuna and company to be here when we showed up."

"Unless…" Tayuya flinched. "Unless the enemy got wind that this place was the meeting spot. You have to take that into consideration…Naruto."

He laughed.

"I have…trust me." The smile never left his face, and Tayuya closed her eyes in an almost resigned manner. "That would just mean I have to kill a bunch of motherfuckers before we leave, y'know?"

She'd seen it before, of course, on a few occasions. The smile that Naruto put on when he didn't feel like looking angry, or sad. The smile that was as insincere as anything she'd ever seen.

It usually preceded very bad things happening to very bad people, in very gory, indescribably cruel ways.

It was part of the small percent of him that had become evil, in order to fight evil. The small percentage that existed within him that allowed him to be capable of such acts of depravity and horror as to make almost anyone lose the content of their stomach, among other things.

Temari broke the slightly uncomfortable introspective silence. "…I don't think that's the case, however. Regardless of this 'Tazuna' character's influence on the town, I believe his absence would stir up a hornet's nest far more than his simple existence. The void he'd create if he were gone would be larger than the space he currently occupies, if that makes any sense."

Naruto nodded, the smile now replaced with a bored, relaxed expression. "Eh, not really, but I get the gist of it." He scratched his chest. "Regardless, we're not going to get anything done just sitting around here doing nothing." His eyes opened just a bit. "We'll keep searching. Rena and Yugito will remain here, the rest of us will split up and take different quadrants of the town to search in…" his eyes narrowed, ever so slightly. "…this time, though…be on the lookout for anything even remotely suspicious. We have to at least be prepared for the worst case scenario; may it never come to pass."

All present nodded. Naruto stood, adjusting his bandolier slightly. "When Rena gets done with…whatever it is she's doing, let her know what's going on."

Yugito nodded. "Will do."

He gestured to Tayuya, before walking towards the door. Tayuya stood with a grunt and followed slowly, but not before being stopped by a hand on her shoulder, Naruto comfortably out of earshot.

"If you don't make your move, Tayuya…you will lose your chance." Yugito eyed the redhead dangerously. "I'm nearly at my limit of patience. You've had your year."

Tayuya brushed the hand off her shoulder, scoffing. "Don't waste my time with your games, bitch." She smiled, equally as dangerously. "There's no 'move' to be made."

Laughing lightly, Yugito shook her head. "You don't quite get it, do you?" Quite suddenly, her eyes opened wide, pupils slit, irises purple. "Don't fuck with me, Tayuya. Right now, you're the one closest to him." Her knuckles cracked as her hands twitched. "But no matter how close to him you are…if you make so much as one misstep…you'll never get another chance." Her eyes narrowed. "I've found what I want…what I need. You're the only thing standing in between him and me. Remember that."

Only somewhat nonplussed, Tayuya huffed and walked out the door, catching up with Naruto in a few seconds.

A few seconds afterwards, Yugito collapsed in a heap of nerves on the couch.

"Damned blonde…"

She rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"I need a god damned drink."

"I've got a love-ly bunch of coconuts, dee dee le dee dee…"

He absently picked up a melon from a nearby stand, weighing it for a moment, before flipping a coin to the vendor. He quickly slashed it in half with some wind chakra and dug in.

"…there they are. Standing in the road." Tayuya pointed towards a small family like grouping dressed in expensive clothes and seemingly attracting all sorts of attention. "Going by the description, that's gotta be them."

He took another munch of melon, not minding the juice dripping down his chin. "Hmm…certainly looks that way. I don't remember Tsunami being that stacked though. Must be an age thing." He tossed the empty husk of half the melon away, snapping his fingers and making the second half disappear into a stasis seal on his arm. "…that's definitely Tazuna though. A bit more rotund than I remember him, but success will do that to a guy."

Tayuya raised an eyebrow. "Not to you, I hope. I'd hate to see what you look like as a fuckin' whale."

"Nah, metabolism is too fast for that kinda thing to happen to me." He grinned, wiping some of the juice off his chin. "You should know, with that whole body heat thing, eh?"

She elbowed him in the side, hard. "Don't ever speak of that again."

Of course, he popped out of existence. She cussed under her breath.

Naruto reappeared behind her, leaning over her shoulder. "Regardless, we need to be tactful about this. We're already under Henge, so making contact shouldn't be that big of a deal…but people will get suspicious if we try to lead him away all of a sudden."

She nodded. "We wait then?"

He patted the top of her head, earning a hard, murderous glare. "Now you're thinking. I'm gonna do a sweep of the area real quick, make sure we don't have any unfriendlies…tag with Tazuna, and try to make it look casual. Maybe try smiling. Good to work those muscles every once in a while."

She dug her nails into his chest, savoring the feeling before he predictably popped out of existence.

Nevertheless, she walked to a nearby stand and picked up…something. Her Shinobi 'instinct' kicked in, and she made conversation with the lady behind the counter, even going so far as to smile a bit.

But not because Naruto said too.

Never.

"Contact has been made, Aoishi-sama. The Ryuujin has agreed to our proposal. We are currently rendezvousing in the country of wave, as per orders."

The static-filled image of a younger, but hard looking woman flickered for a moment, before it seemed to nod. "That is…very good news, Rena. You've done your job well."

Rena smiled, but only slightly. "Thank you. What of…the others that were sent?"

The woman in the image leaned back in a ratty chair. "We've confirmed that Konoha has accepted our proposal as well. Yuki no Kuni has accepted the proposal, but only on the condition that Ryuujin himself will cooperate. All in all, it has been a…rousing success."

She nodded. "That is good to hear. It seems as though almost everything we had hoped for has happened." She smiled, genuinely, as she sighed out a month's worth of pent up stress. "I am…excited, for the first time in a long time."

The image smiled. "As am I. Perhaps there is still hope left after all." The woman's look became hard once again. "However, we can't afford to lose focus. Continue on with the mission parameters as specified. All parties should rendezvous in wave as per instructions within two days time. After that, autonomy of the mission will be in the hands of Ryuujin."

Rena nodded, if hesitantly. "He seems capable…perhaps to a fault. He is not exactly what we believed him to be. He is far more…" she paused. "…the best word I can think of, is 'hardened'. It is quite obvious he knows of war…and knows what it does and can do to a people. Quite frankly, Aoishi-sama…"

She ran a hand through her hair. "…he terrifies me like nothing else ever has."

The woman in the image said nothing for a time, before seeming to nod. "Perhaps…" the image sighed. "Perhaps that is precisely what we need."

Both women were silent.

Rena broke the deafening pause. "The next time we meet, will be at the base. Please, hold out until then."

Aoishi smiled and nodded. "We will survive. We can't die when we're this close."

"May it be so." Rena smiled, before bowing slightly and reaching for the button to the small device, turning it off.

She slumped.

Behind her, holding some sort of chilled alcoholic beverage, Yugito raised an eyebrow. "I've never seen anything like that before. Some sort of chakra-transmission device?"

Rena started only slightly, before quickly taking the cylindrical device and stashing it in a fold of her baggy kimono. "Something like that. How much did you see?"

The older woman shrugged. "Most of it. Not that big of a deal though." She took a sip. "I'm somewhat surprised though. I'd thought the leader of the former village hidden in the rain would be male. It's a traditional society, after all."

"Not former. Just…deposed." Rena stood and stretched her back. "…and it used to be male. Aoishi-sama is the leader by virtue of having no one else left qualified."

Yugito winced. "That bad?"

Rena said nothing, only turning and sauntering out of the room at a slow pace. "We have Ryuujin now, as well as the cooperation of the village hidden in the leaves. Regardless of our own shortcomings in regards to personnel, we are fully ready to begin the offensive anew when our mercenary reinforcements arrive."

"Hmm…?" Yugito turned away from the wall she was leaning on. "Well, whatever. You got Naruto, at least. That'd pretty much be enough right there."

Rena flopped down on a couch, leaning her head back and heaving a sigh. For a moment, all was silent.

"Yugito…what exactly do you know of Naruto's skill in matters of war?"

The older woman lowered her head slightly, before walking casually to the other couch in the room and sitting down hard. "Enough. I know enough."

Rena popped an eye open. "…such as?"

Yugito took a sip from her drink, crossing her legs in the process, seeming far more subdued than before.

She didn't know how much Naruto would want her to tell the girl.

She sighed, deciding to simply give her a morsel to chew on. "Tell me, Rena…have you ever heard of the Tadashii Muzen?"

A statue. They'd made a fucking statue of him.

Tall, roguish looking, with a Kunai in one hand and a fist raised to his chest. A smile.

It wasn't like he minded, but it was weird as all hell. He wasn't used to outright hero worship, though he was used to reverence and perhaps a bit of fear. What he received in Taira was adoration, and what he got in Konoha, towards the end, was satisfied approval and genuine camaraderie. Being hailed as some sort of pseudo-deity, savior of a country was…different.

He felt someone walking up to him, though he paid them no mind. They had a chakra presence…stronger than a civilian at any rate.

"He really was a hero, you know? A great Shinobi, and a man I consider my rival. That's Uzumaki Naruto."

He glanced to his side casually…and barely managed to keep his jaw from falling slack.

Barely.

Instead, he crossed his arms and cocked his head, looking at the statue again. "Hmm? That's the Ryuujin before he went rogue, eh?" he scoffed. "Not that impressive."

The young man next to him frowned. "He didn't go rogue. He had a reason, even though I don't know what it is." The young man turned his eyes on him. "And I'd appreciate it if you didn't insult the hero of this country in my presence" The young man's eyes narrowed. "…especially considering you're an unknown Shinobi."

Naruto raised an eyebrow appraisingly. "Oh? Noticed I have a Henge up, did you?"

Again, the young man's expression changed, this time to something far harder, perhaps more focused. "I did. Though, I'll give you credit that I can't see through it."

Naruto's Henge'd visage smirked. "You're not good enough, then." He turned towards the man he knew as a boy. "Shall I instruct you?"

Inari pulled a Kunai surreptitiously. "Just because you're good at illusions, does not mean you're skilled at combat. I wouldn't try anything."

He smirked very mischievously.

"Do or do not…there is no try."

He vanished.

Inari's eyes widened, before he too performed a rudimentary Shunshin, far slower, but just as effective. He wound up in the woods just past the bridge, opposite the 'unknown Shinobi' across a small clearing. His eyes narrowed.

Naruto's mischievous smile never left his face.

Much to his surprise, however, Inari started hand seals. The kid knew Jutsu, apparently…though he had no idea how he could have gotten formal training without joining a village.

"Suiton: Suijin Heki!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. While the Suijinheki was a higher-level Jutsu, it was meant primarily for defense. Using it at the start of a battle –

As he saw the kunai with explosive notes start to bombard him from behind the wall of water that had appeared out of literally nowhere, he smirked. Behind that wall of water, he couldn't tell where Inari was. All he could do was dodge.

Or at least, that was the premise, anyway.

He'd start the kid off light.

In the blink of an eye, the kunai converged on his location, some even curving slightly to hone towards him. In another blink, they had all detonated, strewing hewn bark and leaves and other bits of detritus everywhere.

The wall of water dissipated, a slightly regretful Inari emerging from it. "…shit. They usually dodge…"

Behind him, he heard a laugh. "The difference is, you see them dodge. You didn't see me dodge, therefore you assume I didn't. For shame."

He spun, drawing a kunai and putting it in front of him defensively.

Naruto looked at the boy, leaning up against a tree, a half-eaten melon resting in his hand. "Though, it's a neat trick. Mask your location, make them dodge, take away the ability to counterattack, and when they're vulnerable, strike. Shinobi one-oh-one, kid."

He took a few more bites of the melon quickly before discarding the husk. "Wanna try again?"

Inari's brow furrowed. "I thought you said that there was no such thing as 'try'?"

Naruto smirked. "You learn quick."

Underneath the Kage Bunshin, a small cache of explosive notes detonated.

Naruto…the real one, at any rate, held a kunai to the young man's neck, freezing him for fear of making a wrong move. "Now…there were three mistakes made in that sequence. Rather than ask you what they were, I'll simply list them out for you."

He yawned. "First, you assumed that simply because you could tell I had a Henge on, we were similar in level. You said it yourself, that illusionary skill does not equal combat skill." He scratched his chest. "Secondly, you assumed that your volley of kunai was fast enough to put me off my guard. Thirdly, perhaps most importantly, while you correctly guessed where I would end up, you did not factor into your guess that perhaps I knew exactly where you had placed your explosive notes. Misdirection, my dear boy."

Inari's budding Adam's apple bobbed as he gulped, a bead of sweat making its way down his neck. "What's with the lecture, if you're just going to kill me, eh?"

Naruto laughed. "I never said I was going to kill you. In fact, if you'll remember, I expressed my intention to instruct you, did I not?"

"But…that…" Inari grit his teeth. "…just who are you? What exactly is going on here?"

Slowly, Naruto withdrew the kunai from Inari's neck, sheathing it safely away. He jumped off the tree branch they had been standing on, absently rubbing his chest and walking at a slow canter towards the town. "I think, by now, your mom and grandpa should be waiting for us at your pad…I doubt Tayuya had the patience to wait for me. We should probably make our way there…" he stopped and looked around pensively for a moment. "…whichever way it was…where the hell are we?"

Instead of well thought out directions, Naruto got the blunt end of a kunai to the forehead, a snarling Inari staring him down. "What have you done with my mom? "

Naruto blinked, a small trickle of blood making its way down his nose. "Wow. You were quiet enough not to tip me off, and fast enough so that it didn't register for me to dodge." He grinned. "That's your first lesson, Inari."

He put his right hand into a half-ram seal. "When you're protecting the ones you cherish the most…that is when you are at your strongest."

He dematerialized.

Inari blinked.

Before taking off at a very fast pace for home.

The more and more he lived, the more he found the charms of a well matured woman to be…nigh irresistible.

It wasn't as though younger women didn't have their appeal. Lithe, taut bodies, younger skin, perfectly ripened breasts and supple yet tight posteriors…

But at some point, you simply had enough of the cosmetic, and found yourself almost pulled, in a way, towards the more…subtle qualities…that older women possessed.

"Oh dear, let me get a band-aid…that's a nasty cut, Naruto-kun."

Such as their femininity, for one. The way they held themselves gracefully, with pride, and yet humility and a sense of almost unending kindness behind it. They didn't try to emulate males, nor did they attempt to overly emphasize that they were female with poor acting skills. They had honed their personality, their gender, to the point that they had an absolute confidence that they were, in fact, women, and they would not let you forget that fact. However, instead of forcing it upon you with draconian gender warring, they used the very things they were gifted with.

As Tsunami hovered over his forehead, applying some disinfectant, Naruto really couldn't help but notice that age had done nothing to diminish the woman's breasts.

Perhaps more than anything, older women satisfied the thing in men that yearned for the older ways…the days when men fought and died, when they brought home the money, earned the family's wealth, and protected their brood. The days when women took care of the house, took care of the kids, and became a pillar that the men leaned on for their sanity and happiness, a pillar that men would protect with their lives to their last breath, without regret.

Nostalgic…and perhaps sexist and dated…but still a powerful and evocative mental image. Not a man alive, or a woman for that matter, would admit it…to do such a thing would be against the societal rules that governed their time…

Tsunami applied a makeshift bandage to his forehead, licking her finger and smoothing down a rogue piece of hair in the process.

He would fuck her into the ground hard enough to shatter the earth.

Judging by the older woman's wink, she would enjoy it, as well.

He thanked his extraordinary willpower at that moment, for saving him from making an ass of himself.

But later…

"Mom! Grandpa! What's…"

A door slammed…and moments later, a panting and sweating Inari was looking at him with a blank expression written on his features. All parties in the room were silent for the moment.

He smirked. "You're really not bad, Inari. Perhaps a tad predictable after your first salvo, but…"

The young man's eyes widened, especially as he saw the band-aid on Naruto's forehead.

Naruto found himself enveloped in a hug.

He laughed, returning the hug with a decidedly manly pat to the back. "Hah…good to see you too."

Inari, somewhat sheepishly, pulled back, rubbing the back of his head.

Tayuya, situated next to a very reserved Rena and Usagi, wasn't watching any of it. Something else had her fascinated, absolutely enraptured.

That smile.

Naruto was as good as anyone at hiding his emotions behind faked expressions and well thought out fronts. It was one of the things Shinobi just did well…a job skill.

However, Naruto was gifted, especially, insomuch that his entire outwards persona was based around his ability to obscure his feelings and general thoughts behind a few very well rehearsed motions and expressions. Scratching his chest, yawning…that clueless, bordering on stupid look he often had on his face.

And of course, he could improvise with the best of them.

But there were a few times…probably fewer than she could count on two hands, where Naruto's expression became unguarded.

Where the look on his face wasn't well rehearsed. When his mannerisms were spontaneous, and almost unreadable.

When he smiled…and meant it.

It was beautiful. And the few times she'd gotten to see it had burned themselves so deeply into her memory that they would never leave.

She didn't notice it, but on her own face, there bloomed a smile that very much resembled the one she was looking at.

Naruto, now sitting cross-legged across from Inari, who had grabbed a chair from the kitchen, scratched his chest. "Ah…this is nostalgic. It's been like…what…" Naruto yawned, raising an eyebrow. "Wow. Nine years. Fuckin' A."

An aged, slightly fatter and balder bridge builder laughed from his spot in a rather cushy rocking chair. "Nine years indeed. Amazing how time flies, hm?" he waved his hand, gesturing at Naruto askance. "You've grown up quite a bit since then, haven'tcha?"

He chuckled a bit. "You could say that, yeah." He scratched his chest. "We've got a day or so to catch up, though…we should concentrate on what we actually came here for first."

Adjacent to Tayuya, Rena nodded politely. "Indeed. I was informed, Tazuna-sama…that you were to be providing a certain amount of capital for our war effort. I don't mean to sound greedy or ungrateful, but…" she glanced to the side. "Unfortunately, we're in a bit of a hurry."

Tazuna waved his free hand absently. "Eh, don't worry about it. I've had it prepared for a while now." He glanced over at Inari. "Go into the vault and get those briefcases for me, would you?"

The boy nodded fervently, dashing off through the back door.

Tsunami, sitting in a traditional pose on the floor next to Naruto's legs, giggled femininely. "He's always so energetic…even with such mundane things."

Naruto nodded, smiling. "Indeed. He's certainly motivated. Which reminds me…" he crossed his legs. "…just where did he get his training?"

The older man in the room rumbled. "Against my wishes…he got his training from some damned nukenin that came by town a few years back. Gave the kid a book, a few pointers, and then just left." He closed his eyes and grumbled. "Though I can't argue with the results…it still burns my ass."

"Nukenin?" Naruto looked genuinely interested. "Do you have any idea who?"

Tsunami shook her head. "We have no idea. All we know is that Inari met him in the forest…and apparently, the Nukenin was drunk. He's kept us in the dark on the rest." The well matured woman sighed. "He gets this faraway look in his eyes whenever he talks about him, too. It's downright creepy."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, unnoticed to the rest of the room. He yawned to cover it up. "Hm. Well, I suppose as long as he's alright." He glanced towards the door as Inari came back in, carrying two rather large briefcases in either hand. He set them on the ground as Naruto knelt down to take a look at them.

"Wow. Carbon-steel locking mechanisms, dye packets…the whole thing." He looked up and grinned at Tazuna. "You know what you're doing, or at least your bank does."

Tazuna waved his hand. "You don't live this long without having your fair share of clandestine transactions. It's par for the course, anyway."

Naruto nodded, absently biting his thumb and drawing a simple seal on the outside of each briefcase. Without even looking, his thumb made graceful arcs and jagged lines, tracing a thin line of his blood across the surface. With a simple half-ram formed on his free hand, the blood glowed and sizzled for a moment, before imprinting itself on the outside of each case. He stood with a lazy grunt.

The briefcases popped out of existence. Tazuna and Rena's eyes both widened considerably.

Naruto scratched his chest and yawned. "Don't worry, just a simple storage seal. They're safe and sound. Easier and more secure that way." He looked around the room, noting that everyone was present. "Right then…that takes care of business. Y'all are free until the reinforcements get here…just don't draw too much attention to yourselves."

Everyone nodded, and began milling about.

Tazuna and Naruto casually made their way to the door, and into the town.

It was a helluva vantage point. Standing at the tip of a bluff, overlooking the city that had prospered so beautifully since his intervention on their behalf.

The wind blew his hair gently, the sun just at its zenith for the day. It was a cool, sea breeze, and it smelled…fresh, for lack of a proper term to describe it. He smiled, for once without a cigarette in his mouth or hand.

Tazuna, next to him, puffed absently on a pipe. "It never ceases to amaze me the progress this city has made. It seems every time I come up here, there's a few new houses under construction, a new part of land reclaimed and new families I've never seen before." He smiled reminiscently. "…the memories of what it used to be like are fading out of my mind."

Naruto chuckled. "That could just be senility, you never know."

"Watch it." Tazuna grumbled good naturedly. "I'm not that old yet."

They stood there in amiable silence for a while, just gazing out over the town. Naruto pushed a lock of hair behind one of his ears.

"This is going to be big, old man." Naruto's eyes seemed to dim a bit. "This is going to be…" He trailed off for a moment, his eyes becoming unfocused. "…era defining. The new era is going to ride on the backs of what we accomplish in the country of rain."

Tazuna blew out a large plume of smoke. "You don't know the half of it."

The old man began walking down the side of the bluff, Naruto following at a short distance in case he fell. "What you've been told by that girl…and whatever other information you've obtained…they're not giving the situation enough credit."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Ever since rain approached me about this, I've been checking into the situation as best I can. I've greased some pockets, and even checked in with the local Yakuza." Tazuna sighed. "There's some shit going on in rain that defies logic…there's stuff going on that makes you rethink the lengths that people will go to in order to accomplish their goals. Stuff that you see in nightmares."

The blonde stopped mid stride, causing the older man to look up at him with tired, weary eyes. Naruto stared back, all levity gone from his features.

"I don't care what you've gone through up until now, kid." Tazuna's eyes closed.

"You are not prepared."

There was something to be said for drugs.

Or rather, drugs of the Shinobi variety. Soldier pills, endorphin and adrenaline injections, slow-release pain inhibitor patches…that sort of thing. The necessary evils for their trade.

One of those necessary evils was the good old 'stay awake' pill that most Shinobi carried with them for either prolonged travel, or prolonged combat, or any situation that called for haste and lots of it. Usually it wasn't issued to any Shinobi not of at least special Jounin rank…but on a few occasions, it was issued to Chuunin. Invasions, especially.

As she hopped through the trees, bags under her eyes, she couldn't help but feel she was developing a resistance to the things.

"Kakashi…we're almost there, right?"

The one-eyed, one-armed (at least, when he had his book open) man briefly glanced at her. "Probably."

Sakura groaned. "You don't have an empathetic bone in your body, do you?" She glanced to her other side, where Sai, eyes closed, was jumping in tandem with her. "…and he can travel while asleep. Holy shit I hate him."

Kakashi shrugged. "Good skill to have. More or less required for ANBU. You'd know that if you'd done your stint like you were supposed to."

Behind them, a deeper female voice chuckled. "She didn't have the heart for it. She's a healing prodigy more skilled than Tsunade, and stronger to boot…but the chick can't even slide a kunai across someone's neck."

"Shut up, damn it." Sakura's expression became deadpan. "Just because I can't kill like you, Anko-sempai, doesn't mean I'm couldn't kick your ass."

Anko raised an eyebrow, a smirk dancing on her lips. "Oh? Care to test that out?"

"Quiet. You're both irritating me." Ibiki, next to Anko, rubbed his scarred temple. "Your voices seem to induce headaches. That might be a useful skill in Torture and Interrogation."

Sai, now apparently roused, took that moment to pipe in. "Women tend to be more irritating of the two genders. Their voices also tend to be more shrill, and less soothing than the baritone of a common male voice. This can cause headaches much more frequently than normal." His tone was level, and logical. "…at least, that's what the data suggests."

Sakura barely resisted the urge to make a crater in the dirt with the man. Instead, she glared daggers. "…you'll pay for that, you realize."

The raven haired replacement didn't respond. His eyes were closed…asleep.

She almost cried.

Behind Kakashi came a feminine giggle. "You have to admire him for saying his mind, at least. And you can tell he doesn't mean anything mean by it. He's a good guy."

"Bullshit. You just don't know him well enough, Hinata." Sakura sighed, rubbing at her own temple. "How close are we, Kakashi? And no 'close enough' bull this time, eh?"

Surprisingly, Kakashi shut his book, stowing it in his shuriken pouch. "We're less than a minute out." He put his hands in a quick ram seal, and Henge'd into a plain man with black hair and nondescript clothes. "Rendezvous occurs at Tazuna's house…we'll make our way there on foot. Try not to draw any attention to yourselves."

The rest of the team put on their own henges, everyone shaking off what exhaustion they had and becoming completely business like. Sakura flexed her hands…they were a tad stiff.

The second part of the team would be bringing up the rear in a few hours…they'd been delayed slightly.

This meant they were the vanguard.

Which meant, if anything went wrong, they'd have to deal with it.

She almost grinned. She hadn't been in a good knock-down drag-out fight in a while. She was itching for some trouble.

The boughs of the trees cleared as the city came into view, and they dropped to the ground, each adopting a fast saunter. Each was on the lookout.

Briefly, the image of Naruto flitted through her head.

She smiled.

When he needed to think, there was no place more suitable to him than an open grass field.

Lying on the grass, staring at the sky was comfortable…peaceful. It put some things into perspective almost immediately, and more than that, being ambushed in the middle of an open field was…hard. You'd notice them well before they could surprise you.

What Tazuna had told him…had sent chills down his spine. Both from anger, and outright unease.

The things people would do to other people…

He felt it before he saw it, a large mass of Chakra converging from the north, roughly on his position. They seemed to be skilled at hiding their presence, at least…but they were powerful enough that it still came through.

In an instant, his body disintegrated, and he appeared high in the air over the position the intruding Nin were currently striding over. They were going fast…and they were definitely in Henge. Trying not to draw attention to themselves, quite obviously.

Inconspicuousness can be very conspicuous.

As he fell, he charged a Rasengan in his right hand. It probably wouldn't hit any of them, but it would scatter them at least. He drew his hand back, and threw the ball of chakra as hard as he could.

With the acceleration from his fall, and the strength behind the throw, the Rasengan plowed into the center of the group like a meteor, kicking up dust and dirt all around. He charged some chakra into his hands of the wind variety, and as he landed…hard…he whirled quickly to disperse the dust around him. He could still feel them…they'd definitely gotten away in time.

A shuriken came out of the debris, fast. Flipping the hilt of Fuujin up into his hand quickly, he sliced the shuriken in half neatly, before bringing the sword into a guard position. A few more shuriken came at him from different angles, but he either dodged them or sliced them as well.

The throws, however, had allowed him to make out one of the Shinobi's position. He disintegrated.

He reappeared behind the Shinobi that had been lax enough to give away his position from this throws. Of course, he realized at once that the Shinobi he was behind was a clone, but then again…so was he.

With a neat slash, the Kage Bunshin tore through the Dorubo Bunshin, before twirling and cutting another kunai that came from behind him. The Kage Bunshin dispelled, suddenly.

Naruto, again high in the air, noted that one of them was a lightning master. To be able to flow electricity through the ground at such a current so that it was not noticeable, but enough to damage, was…very skillful.

By now, the debris had completely dissipated, allowing him to survey the field. There were five of them, in a pentagonal formation. Each had a Kunai raised, save for one…whose fists were glowing bright blue.

The side of his mouth quirked into a slight frown, as his eyebrow rose. The stance, and the amount of chakra being used was familiar. More than that…

On a hunch, he put his hands in a ram seal, and as his fall neared the ground, he gathered up a small amount of chakra (to him) and pulsed it outwards forcibly. "Kai!"

The chakra pulse bowled over the Shinobi in their formation, causing one to tumble almost twenty yards before coming to a stop. In puffs of smoke, their Henge's dissolved.

Drawing Fuujin, he set off at a dead run towards the Shinobi nearest him, the one with glowing fists. The smoke was almost dissipated from around them…almost enough for him to make them out.

But he had the element of surprise.

Stopping just short, he held the wind-blade to the pink-haired woman's neck. He noted, absently, her rather skimpy clothing, especially considering her position towards him with her butt up in the air. "…as much as I appreciate the view, I'm going to have to ask you to stand up, slowly."

The woman almost growled. "…that hurt, god damn it. You son of a bi-"

Sakura turned around, and came face to face with blue eyes, blonde hair, and whisker marks on a surprised face.

The two just stood (and crouched respectively) there for a few moments, before Naruto's wind blade deactivated and he put it away in a pouch in his pants. He just stared.

So did Sakura.

Walking up beside them, Sai dusted himself off. "You've become rather attractive in your time away. Your tan, especially, suggests virility."

Neither of the two budged, save for Sakura's eye twitching.

"He's just about the same, isn't he?"

"Yeah…he really hasn't changed much."

Naruto cocked his head, a small smile blooming on his face. "I…don't think the same could be said about you."

Sakura blinked a few times…before blushing a bright red. It was true she'd purposely worn skimpy clothing for her first meeting with her teammate in years…but she'd expected that she'd be controlling the conversation. Him pointing it out, for some reason, made it a bit embarrassing.

Though, she didn't complain. Truth be told, Naruto was…amazingly sculpted. Tanned skin, a large but not bulky musculature…he was tall, too. Broad shouldered and well proportioned, with maturing features retaining a little bit of boyish charm. And his eyes…deep…and a bit darker than she remembered. The shine of youth was all but gone from them, but instead there was a defined confidence and a warmth to them that made one feel safe.

And then there was that aura about him…that confident, self assured, mature aura that felt almost domineering in its command. You felt safe in it, but it was just dangerous enough…to make it amazingly sexy.

Beside her, Anko pulled a few bits of grass out of her hair. "Daaaamn. Boy got sexy. You doin' anything tonight sugar?"

Naruto didn't laugh, or blush, or stutter, like Sakura almost expected him to do. Instead, he put on the most amazingly alluring smile she'd ever seen. "…I think I am now."

Anko…shivered. Sakura gaped. "Oh hell yeah. Talk to me later, eh?"

"Will do." Naruto chuckled and shook his head. "This probably isn't the best place to have a reunion. What say we head to somewhere a tad more…secure?"

Kakashi, book open in front of him, eye-smiled. "Yeah. Let's do that."

Naruto disintegrated. The rest of the Shinobi, sensing that he'd reappeared nearer to the city, performed Shunshin as well.

It was one way, at least, to have a reunion.