Disclaimer: The Naruto Franchise belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, 'Shounen Jump' and other affiliated companies with intellectual property rights over the franchise

A/N:

1) Thanks to DarkHeroOrionfor his speedy and masterful Beta work. Please check out his marvelous new story 'Wild Fire' (/s/6785618/1/). I promise you sticking to it won't leave you disappointed since he's got killer plotting skills and superb writing ability.

2) Special thanks as usual to rasengan86 and DarkHeroOrion for his input and helping me weave and moderate my plot as I go, this story wouldn't half as reasonable or coherent without their support and assistance.

3) Thanks to LD1449's advice I've repaired Gaara's talking in the previous chapter. I hadn't noticed I was channeling post TS Gaara so early in the game. So I've mellowed it down considerably to take in account he's still unsure and awkward without his 'Bijuu's voice in his head and human interactions are still foreign to him. It isn't too crucial plot-wise, but note Gaara won't be as mellow or playful as he was initially for a while, as he's still coming out of his shell.

4) I had to cut out a Sakura scene I won't possibly be able to finish this weekend and have beta-approved and I don't want to push the update to next week or later, so I'll push the scene into the next chapter whenever it may come out. Anyhow, I know there's a bit less Naruto than you might've gotten used to in recent chapters, but don't worry, he'll come back with vengeance in the next chapter!

5) I'm unsure when I'll update next, I've made quite the run in the last month or so and updated rather regularly. However, I'm about to enter a rather stressful month or so at work and the university so I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up with this update schedule though I'll do my best to update at least once.

Anyhow, Read, Review and Enjoy!

Japanese Word Glossary

Hokage – Fire Shadow
Mizukage – Water Shadow
Rokubi – Six Tails
Kyuubi – Nine Tails
Godaime – The Fifth
Ero-Kyoufu – Perverted Godfather
Senpuu Kaiten – Whirlwind Rotation
Kirigakure – Hidden Mist
Konohagakure – Hidden Leaf
Sunagakure – Hidden Sand
Konoha – Leaf
Kumo - Cloud
Kekkei Genkai – Bloodline Limit
Hi no Kuni - Fire Country

(Afternoon, Two days later, hero memorial monument, Konohagakure)

Hatake Kakashi sighed heavily as he gazed at the monument to the fallen. 'Hey, Obito, Rin. I'm sorry I've been absent lately. You wouldn't believe how energetic Sensei's son is!'

He smiled beneath his mask and shut his visible eye. If he tried hard enough, he could almost hear Rin's tinkling laughter in the wind. 'Though, I confess he's a lot more like Kushina than his dad. He's got her loud mouth, tactlessness and her preference for using shadow clones to augment his fighting style.'

In his mind's eye, he could almost imagine Obito's deadpan expression and he smirked to himself. 'Don't be like that, Obito. She was like a big sister to me and she was really sweet for the most part, even if we used to get jealous about how Sensei went gaga over her all the time…'

The Copy Ninja opened his eye and place his hand on the cool surface. 'I promise I'll try to visit soon again. That is, if my wayward pupil doesn't get himself into too much trouble again. I swear…that kid's caught Jiraiya-sama's gift of hovering around hotheaded women and pissing them off down to a tee.'

"You really shouldn't dwell on the past so much, Hatake-senpai. It'll get you killed one of these days."

Kakashi's visible eye sharply opened as he whirled around while making hand seals at a rapid pace. "And I always told you that you shouldn't sneak up me, Itachi."

"You know why I'm here, senpai," Itachi, clad in the black robes decorated with red clouds of his organization, monotonously drawled while Kakashi's fire ninjutsu struck nothing but air; the Uchiha's silhouette dispersed like dust in the wind.

Kakashi felt his heart pound in his ear and a chill ran down his spine. He pulled his forehead protector off his Sharingan eye and spoke in an icy tone. "You won't lay a finger on Naruto."

The son of the White Fang noticed, for the first time, that the last of the Uchiha wore an eye-patch over his right eye. Only his left Sharingan appeared visible and it began to rapidly swirl. 'What the hell? Did something happen to his eye?'

He tried to cover up his grimace from displeasure. 'I won't be able to defeat him on my own. I have to call for backup!' Kakashi realized and his mind raced with possible battle plans until one tickled his fancy. 'Let's see how you fair without your eyesight, Itachi.'

Kakashi's hands raced through the seals at a blurry speed.

'Kirigakure no Jutsu,' the Copy Ninja willfully thought as the air around them considerably thickened. He covered his implanted eye to conserve his chakra and knelt down to place his palm against the ground.

He closed his dichromatic eyes, expanded his senses, and quickly rolled to his left, hearing the sound of projectiles whistling by him. Kakashi pivoted the moment he rose into a crouching position and unleashed a kunai. He quickly ran through a jutsu he had picked up from his apprentice, of all people. 'Bless your foresight, Kushina…'

'Kunai Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,' he forced with great intent and pushed out his essence. As a follow-up, the ashen-haired ninja started making hand seals and thrust his hands against the earth beneath him. The sound of steel hitting steel rang out in the air. The genius Uchiha obviously was not deterred by his blindness.

'Don't get too comfortable, Itachi…'

Kakashi shifted sideways, the sound of metal whistling past him alarmingly close. He grunted painfully as something smashed into his abdomen; belatedly, he realized, it was Itachi's foot. He staggered a few steps backward before he carefully rushed through some hand seals as he literally felt the follow-up ninjutsu rush toward him.

'Fuuton: Kami Oroshi!'

He threw his palms forward, cupping them together and propelling a swirling spiral of wind chakra. The veil of mist was torn apart by the fierce ninjutsu and plowed right through both it and the water bullets Itachi fired off. The Uchiha nimbly weaved out of the way of the attack and rushed the Copy Ninja.

The ashen-haired jounin charged forward as well, narrowly dodging Itachi's blade lunge, by swerving sideways. He barely blocked the subsequent roundhouse kick before he lifted his left hand, capturing Itachi's wrist and preventing his ensuing decapitation, whereas his right hand captured Itachi's right fist where it nearly smashed into his ribcage.

Itachi's cornea seemed to expand briefly and Kakashi cursed as, in the blink of an eye, he was entrapped by a massive tree trunk, its branches constricting his body and arms.

'This is just like Kurenai's genjutsu…' he reasoned and bit his lower lip as pain invaded his chest cavity where a blade pierced his flesh.

His body popped and vanished and his thoughts flashed into his original body, just as it burst from behind Itachi. He stabbed his enemy's upper chest from behind, his uncovered Sharingan spinning rapidly and he had waited patiently for this chance. "You've gotten careless, Itachi. You've forgotten to watch your back. By now, ANBU will be on their way here, considering one of my Tsuchi Bunshin has rushed to alert them…"

Itachi's body turned inky black and broke apart into chunks of liquid matter which reformed into crows, which audibly cawed. Kakashi's body froze as he felt a breath hit his neck and ear from behind.

He spun around and his Sharingan eye locked with Itachi's, though Kakashi had never seen such a Sharingan before. The commas had blended into an ebony three-point ninja star with a red circle in its center.

The next exclaim left his body and heart as heavy as lead. He felt his throat dry and mentally apologized to his student and Tsunade for his failure. "Unfortunately, they won't be here fast enough for you, Hatake-senpai. Tsukuyomi…"

(Meanwhile, Underground Laboratory, somewhere in the Sea Country)

Anko's eyes snapped open as she hungrily gasped for oxygen. Her head spun, a dull throbbing sensation thundering through her temples. It was dark and cold, wherever she was. Her body was naked by the breeze she felt caress her skin. Her clouded vision shifted around the room, her skin crawling from more than just the temperature as she saw various contraptions spread across the room.

'Orochimaru…you sick bastard, I'll kill you for this, if it's the last thing I ever do!'

She had no idea what he had done to her. Often he kept her deeply sedated during whatever sordid experiments he was running on her. Whenever he wasn't 'working' on her, they strapped a mask to her face and kept on pumping drugs into her system.

'I have to get out here! I have to get back home…' she frantically pondered as she tried to move.

She bit her lower lip, hard, muffling a cry of pain as her chakra was violently repelled by an outer force. She looked down at her body for the first time, taking note of the heavy chains wrapped around her wrists and ankles with various fuuinjutsu carved on their surface glowing ominously in the dim setting.

It appeared as if they were binding her to the surface of the lab cot on which she lay. Additionally, she saw a breathing apparatus connected to a machine that had been removed from her face and now tantalizingly sat on her upper chest.

'You've learned new tricks since we've last met…you son of a bitch!' the snake summoner sourly cogitated. She couldn't, for the life of her, remember when she was brought here or how, nor could she remember anything noteworthy being here.

"You're awake. Good," a rough, somewhat excited voice came from the door across the room. Anko cut her gaze to the skinny, oily individual she hated with a burning passion.

It was one of Orochimaru's former right-hand researchers; the man who had mocked her and laughed at her plight when Orochimaru abandoned her in Sea Country all those years ago.

'Amachi…'

"My, you've grown into quite a stunning specimen, Anko-chan. You surely aren't a little girl anymore, are you?" The man chuckled pleasantly as he approached her, shamelessly ogling her body.

"Orochimaru was a fool to bring me back into the fold. I know he has some kind of special plan for you. He's been obsessively secretive when he worked on you for hours on end, so it must be something special. I don't know what it is, but I'm not about to let him to enjoy the fruits of his labor. I think I'll take you to my own lab and try to see exactly what that snaky pervert did to you! That is, among other things I had in mind for someone like you, my dear."

Anko started panting harder every inch closer the treacherous little weasel got to her. Her blood pumped and she felt her body tremble uncontrollably. Her eyes widened with pain and confusion as she felt something move inside her, right under the surface of her skin.

Amachi removed a syringe from his coat and flicked it lightly with his finger, oblivious to her plight. She tightly shut her eyes and bit back a scream when he leaned closer and the agony became unbearable, she felt her skin nearly split and relief filled her as something burst from beneath her skin.

She heard Amachi cry in surprise and cautiously opened one eye. 'What the fuck?'

Her mind reeled as she looked down to her arms. Her skin had stretched, but instead of tearing, several large, white snakes protruded from her skin like creeper vines, wrapping quite firmly around her would-be abductor. 'Wh-what the fuck did you do to me, Orochimaru?'

The snakes seemed to resonate with her emotions, her reeling sensation causing them to quickly retreat, dropping the suffocating victim. However, it would do him no good. She could see several puncture marks on his skin…

They had poisoned him.

'If only I could get out of here!' She tried to project her intent and, to her great surprise, the alabaster serpents obeyed her silent command. They slithered around the chains binding her, and suddenly pulled with great force, literally tearing the chains like paper.

Anko shakily tried to stand, her legs buckling beneath her. She shivered and, with great effort, pulled herself to her feet. She uneasily grimaced as the white snakes receded into her very flesh and a bitter thought rushed through her mind. 'I hate to admit it…but you just might come in handy…but now…to get out of here!'

(Several hours later, Private Hospital Room, Genjutsu damage ward, Konoha Hospital)

Tsunade surveyed the prone form of Hatake Kakashi with a solemn expression on her face.

'Uchiha…Itachi. What are you up to?'

It didn't make any sense. Jiraiya's anonymous source within Akatsuki reported they were not ready to begin their nefarious plans for the Bijuu.

She lightly massaged the Copy Ninja's temples, probing his chakra pathways with a simple diagnostic jutsu. Her fingertips were coated by tendrils of green life force. 'So, why did you attack a ninja as skilled as Kakashi when Naruto was manning the main gate with a couple of chuunin?'

The last of the Senju bit her lower lip and pulled away from him. 'The neural pathways regulating emotions and pain have been overloaded. His mind must've shut down to protect his brain from lasting trauma. What kind of technique could do something like this…did he use Tsukuyomi?'

"Shizune!" Tsunade called out suddenly.

She waited until the brunette child rushed into the room before turning towards her. "Keep Kakashi sedated for forty-eight hours. Keep monitoring his brain activity, and once it and his blood pressure drop to normal levels, call for me."

Before she dashed out the hospital room, she heard the sound of a cane hit the floor behind her and three presences she never enjoyed being around alone or together converged. 'Damned geezers…Why Sarutobi-sensei ever gave you bastards any authority and leeway to influence his decisions, I'll never know!'

"Shizune, do you mind leaving us for a couple of minutes?" the Godaime tenderly asked, keeping her emotions in check. She then shot her protégé a quick 'make sure we're not disturbed' look and watched the younger woman nod in haste. She bowed to the three elder ninja before she left the room.

"Tsunade, we came as soon as we heard of Hatake being found next to the memorial stone," Homura evenly declared.

'I'm sure you did, like buzzards hovering around a bloody corpse…' Tsunade bitterly believed and kept her back to the elders, only glancing at them over her shoulder.

"Do we know what happened?" Koharu demanded, her voice sharper than her former teammate when the silence fell between the occupants of the room. "The presence of someone able to utterly overwhelm someone like Kakashi is…disconcerting."

Tsunade's eyes narrowed a fraction, but her lips imperceptibly twitched. "Kakashi managed to call for help when he was attacked, and Gai, the person who made first contact with his assailant ,was standing beside an unconscious Kakashi. Unfortunately, he was unable to apprehend him before he escaped."

"Stop dawdling, Tsunade. Who was it?" Danzou curtly exclaimed.

The temperature in the room seemed to drop as soon as the words slipped out of her lips. "Uchiha Itachi."

"And he spared him?" Koharu broke the silence, her tone a bit parched as she coughed into her hand.

She noticed Danzou was uncharacteristically quiet. He usually offered far more barbed words. 'Are you…afraid, Danzou? Did your little shadow operations piss off the wrong Uchiha among the countless others?'

"We are unsure what Itachi wanted exactly. In several days, once Kakashi recovers, we'll know for certain." Tsunade brushed off their inquiries and turned to them, noticing they made no move to leave. 'What now?'

"That is not the only reason we came here." Danzou finally seemed to return to the conversation, and the way the edge of his lip quirked just a modicum sent dread racing down her spine, though she showed no outward signs to reveal that.

'What have you geezers done?'

"Daimyo-sama has taken an interest in Uzumaki, and he was very displeased to hear how you're squandering his potential by keeping him mostly grounded to Konohagakure," Danzou informed her after the tense silence.

Tsunade's narrowed and her eyebrow ticked dangerously but otherwise she kept her façade cool. "I see. And what did our esteemed Daimyo have to say about the situation?"

"In light of Itachi being able to infiltrate Konoha so easily, and neutralize one of our strongest ninja, it seems Daimyo-sama's foresight is all the more accurate," Homura intoned uncomfortably as Koharu handed her a small scroll with the appropriate crest stamped on its wax seal.

The blonde Hokage unfurled the scroll which was no more than a glorified, wordy manner for the Daimyo to order two things: the first, Uzumaki Naruto must fulfill a solo mission for him; and the second was for Tsunade to accelerate his mission load and training and notified her that the elder three would be reporting to him on his progress on a bi-weekly basis from now on.

Tsunade bit the inner side of her cheek and shut her eyes briefly. "I'll cut back on his casual duties, as it seems I have no choice. But, Naruto isn't moving an inch from Konoha unescorted by Kakashi or Tenzo, and that's final."

"I second your motion."

Danzou surprised all the assorted people in the room. "However, Kakashi is not enough. I will delegate one of my own students to…"

"Absolutely not!" Tsunade punctuated with a hint of finality. "I am Hokage, despite your better efforts and meddling. I will handle the security of my ninja in the way I see fit." She turned her back to them and waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "Now, if you don't mind, you've made your point clear, and I will react accordingly. Now, leave me. I have a patient to attend to."

She inwardly bristled as she heard them leave without a fuss, for once. They were smug and pleased; they had forced her hand after weeks of arguing in vain. They had done the one thing she couldn't defend against…

They went behind her back.

'You may have won this round, you shriveled prunes, but you'll pay for this! I won't take this insult lying down! And don't think I'll rush this mission the Daimyo shoved down my throat either…I won't send him on it until Kakashi's there to protect him and guide him as he goes.'

She was about to storm out to look for her stash of sake when a popping sound caught her attention. A small orange toad spat out its tongue, which was wrapped around a scroll. 'This had better be good news…' She sighed. 'Damn…I wish I could drink on the job like I used to.'

She unrolled the scroll, undeterred by the mucus on the outer surface. Her eyes skimmed over the scroll and her eyes marginally narrowed.

'It seems I'll need to inform the technology division to accelerate our research and advance the initiative I had in mind earlier than I intended. Be careful, you old pervert. Don't you dare die on me while you're snooping around the darkest secrets of the ninja villages!'

(That evening, training field three)

Uzumaki Naruto let loose a dejected sigh, frowning with his brows furrowed. 'I can't believe Kakashi-sensei ditched me. He knows how hard it is for us to get some one-on-one training time with our conflicting schedules!'

They had agreed to meet at Training Field Three an hour ago. His sensei was rarely late, nowadays. He had started taking things more seriously ever since Sasuke died and there was that looming promise in that Tsunade had threatened him with bodily harm in case he degenerated back to that particularly nasty habit.

'I guess if he's not coming, I might as well make myself useful' he rationalized, attempting to lift his spirits, and bit his thumb. He made the quick, five hand seals and slapped his hand against the ground with a light thump.

A small cloud was invoked and the voice of Gamakichi croaked happily, "Yo, Naruto! What's up?"

Naruto was thirteen and then some when he took the Chuunin Exams and was nearing his fourteenth birthday in earnest. It was only several months away, but already he felt like a whole different person than he was back then, when he graduated from the Academy.

First and foremost, he wasn't a midget anymore. Kakashi-sensei's change in his diet had paid off, and the beginnings of a growth spurt had helped quiet his old insecurities about his height.

His body had filled out with muscle, thanks to hours or hours of taijutsu training and 'light conditioning' with Fukusaku and the general intensity of training with his various jounin sensei and some of his chuunin peers.

Gamakichi was also growing. Where he used to fit on top of his head, the toad boss' elder offspring was now towered at his height. "I need m'mom's scroll, and I don't have any sweets but…"

Gamakichi's face puffed and he pulled out a black cylinder from his mouth, handing it to Naruto. He popped open the lid and removed the priceless parchment from within it. Tsunade had warned him that with his rising notoriety, people might seek his secrets to exploit them or learn his weaknesses.

That was why he had taken a page out of his godfather's book and trusted his toad familiars to protect his mother's scrolls and books for him.

"That's fine, Naruto. You know I'd pay money to see you blow yourself up all the time, but this is much better!"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched, but he shrugged off that comment and sighed. "Fine. You can watch, but don't get too close. This isn't like the synchronized ninjutsu training Ero-kyoufu had us do. You could get hurt…"

"Yeah, Yeah. Don't get your ovaries twisted, Naruto. I'll be fine!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. 'I swear, all of those toads have attitude issues!'

With that, the toad leapt off the ground, landing a respectable distance away.

Naruto examined his initial inheritance from his mother, the scroll full of ninjutsu and elemental manipulation tips spread open in front of him. His eyes darted over the neat writing, thoroughly examining it.

As his knowledge and control over the wind element grew, Naruto had become more comfortable with the idea of experimenting with it. It was that he had a respectable number of ninjutsu at his disposal, but, it wasn't enough.

He wanted more. He had taken up Uzumaki Tiger-style of taijutsu, learned the various ninjutsu gathered by his various sensei, and, at times, his peers over the years, but he wanted something of his own.

It wasn't that he was ashamed of his late parents or his sensei and friends. His mother was apparently very gifted in the art of raw elemental manipulation—if less so in ninjutsu—and she was a genius seal mistress equaled only by his father, the notorious yellow flash.

'I want to make them proud…' Naruto determined weeks ago and ever since he had been experimenting with his strongest abilities. He had invented his own variant of the Hyuuga's Kaiten defensive technique that was still work in progress.

He still needed to find a way to overcome the dizziness, and he had plans for that particular jutsu. 'Maybe I'll ask Hinata, since she learned the technique recently from Hiashi. Somehow, I think asking Neji or Hiashi will end with me hurting from extremities I'm not even aware of!'

He had many ideas, some more practical for others, but one of them kept on nagging at him lately. If he pulled it off, it would complement his style and be the bane of all his enemies. He was still trying to nail down the 'Bunshin Daibakuha' and the Kaze Kage Bunshin, which was little more than a glorified Kage Bunshin with wind chakra pumped within it.

The latter was useful for setting up all manners of explosion traps that would be augmented by the wind chakra, or repelling enemies and sending them off balance. If he could somehow blend the concepts of storing wind chakra in the clone, and then making it explode outward…

"All right, let's get this show on the road!" he called out and made the seal for the shadow clone.

(Meanwhile, in a Roots compound hidden beneath Konoha)

Shimura Danzou sat in a chair, deep in thought. Tsunade's revelation had unsettled him. His single visible eye thoughtfully narrowed as he gazed into the flames of a nearby hearth. 'Just what is your game, you accursed Uchiha?'

His hand tightened around his cane. Itachi was not an enemy he wanted to cross.

Even with the modifications Orochimaru had engineered in his DNA, which allowed him to blend Senju Hashirama's cells with the various Sharingan he had acquired over the years, he wasn't certain he could defeat the elder Uchiha in combat.

He would have to manipulate things into his favor, somehow. He needed to distract Itachi and force him to target someone else in Danzou's stead; preferably, away from Konohagakure proper. 'Hmmm…Akatsuki is fascinated by the Bijuu. Then, perhaps…'

His thoughts were disrupted when a presence made itself known behind him. The master of the Roots shadow corps glanced over his left shoulder. He easily recognized his most trustworthy assassin, the prodigy of the Aburame clan. "Torune, report."

"Danzou-sama," the goggle wearing ninja humbly murmured, keeping his head bowed in respect, "our contact in Kirigakure reports Fujitsu Mashashi has returned, bearing his mythical blade…"

Danzou outwardly remained cool, but processed the information inwardly at a fervent pace. 'Oh? So that monster of a man still lives? It took all seven swordsmen to kill him back then…Hm, he might complicate things.'

"…Also, Kirigakure is desperately seeking any traces of the Rokubi's Jinchuuriki. Though we have no information to substantiate it, we are quite certain they are applying equal efforts in tracking down the former Mizukage, Yagura, as well."

Danzou's eye became an almond-shaped slit.

The old war hawk became quite displeased with the rapid recovery efforts and rearmament race the isle-dwelling ninja village undertook. He wanted to know the one responsible, so he could remove him or her from the equation. "Who is leading them? Who is their Godaime Mizukage?"

"Her name is Mei, presumably the last of the Terumi clan. We are unsure as to what entails the scope of her abilities, but, considering her power and the fearful respect some of the former nuke-nin feel towards her, we assume she has inherited the full force of that clan's fearsome double kekkei genkai."

Danzou rubbed his chin and came to a decision he knew was necessary, though he would derive great pleasure from knocking Kiri back to its rightful place, at the bottom of the food chain. 'So, it seems you are healing the rift regarding the treatment of bloodline carriers in your nation, Terumi. I will stop this. I will reignite the civil war which plagued your nation for decades.'

"Torune, once you've rested, I have a long term new mission for you. Take one of the Bikochuu beetle eggs you've collected over the years. There is sample of Yagura's DNA in storage unit thirty-nine. Use the beetle once it hatches to find him, and then, I want you to leak his location to the black market."

The Aburame nodded and bowed until his head touched the ground in a humble gesture. With that, his body blurred as he vanished from his presence, leaving him to his thoughts. 'Heh, Yagura is a fearsome ninja by any parameter. By setting Akatsuki on his trail, either Kiri's ambitions will be quashed or, alternatively, he will weaken the organization for me.'

His blood raced with anticipation, everything seeming to work according to plan. Naruto was being usurped from Tsunade's protective grip by order of the Daimyo, thus granting him the opportunity to learn of the true role of Shinobi. Kiri's plans were painfully obvious, and he would react accordingly, but, best of all, even if his men were caught in Mizu no Kuni, Tsunade would be the one to suffer the consequences!

(Two days Later, Sarutobi Asuma's residence)

Asuma puffed a shallow sigh, biting on a toothpick instead of his usual cigarette of choice. Ever since Kurenai moved in with him, she forbade him from smoking in or around the house. She said the smell offended her nose. 'Tch, troublesome woman. You've got the most roundabout way of 'asking' me to stop smoking.'

He was sitting on the porch outside, sitting in a lotus manner in front of a small table, a shogi board lying open upon it. In front of him sat the most senior of Sunagakure's surviving ninja, Baki.

The battle-worn veteran wasn't half bad at the board game, though nobody was quite as good as old Shikaku or his son, Shikamaru. "So, how exactly do you want to do this, Baki-san? These are your countrymen, after all."

"I'm not quite sure. I'm still surprised with your Hokage. You Leaf-nin have treated us much better than I expect most of your population and ninja believe we deserve," Baki commented composedly, rubbing his chin as he observed the pieces. He was obviously trying to figure out how to outwit the heir of the Sarutobi family.

Asuma shrugged. "You know what they say: 'war makes for strange bed fellows', Baki-san. Killing you all would be monstrous and pooling our forces together benefits all of us," he simply responded and moved his right hand to stroke his beard. His dark eyes flicked over to his opponent that visibly tensed at the reminder.

"Yes, but, when the time comes, we will be most insistent on getting our chance to take our pound of flesh from Kumo for what they've done," Baki acknowledged with a bitter grimace, his visible eye narrowing.

A silence lulled between them and they continued playing for several more minutes before Baki shattered the hanging pause. "So, what should we call this specialized force the Hokage would have us co-command, Asuma-san?"

"We'll have enough time to discuss such trivial manners later. What's more important is that we begin pooling our resources and planning battle tactics and training regimes and chose our second-in-command," Asuma remarked and his dark orbs flicked towards the street.

"Temari is one of our brightest young kunoichi; she is very sharp, ruthless in battle and gifted in the art wind chakra manipulation. Most importantly, for our agenda, however, is the fact she is respected by all the survivors," Baki explained.

Asuma mulled over his words. He remembered the kunoichi who dueled with Naruto in the preliminary round of the Chuunin Exams. She was, indeed, dedicated, sharp and powerful. She kept to her mission, even though she fought an individual who she knew was her superior. "Good. She seemed to be both strong, and yet, has not yet been painted with the darkness of our profession, which will make it easier for her to work with my choice."

"Oh?"

Asuma nodded, "If I could, I would ask for Nara Shikaku's help, but I doubt he'd be able to accept the role. Like us, as a veteran, he has too many grudges and scars to be able to fully accept the position, and we need people to grow into it."

He bit hard on the toothpick, his urge for a smoke growing as he spoke up once more. "His son, Nara Shikamaru, will fit the bill, though. He is a true genius with an IQ of above two hundred and is very driven and protective of his comrades. He will be most useful in the planning processes and will most likely accept your people without prejudice."

Baki's eyes widened a bit. "I see."

"I'll ask Hokage-sama if she'd agree to have the symbol of Sunagakure be tactfully combined in our ninja uniforms. I think that might help weaken hostilities and embolden moral; kind of branding our new status in a finite manner."

Baki looked at him with tapering eyes, a cautious gleam filling his dark eyes. "You think the Hokage will let us keep our past with us? After everything we've done?"

Asuma shrugged. "You'd be surprised by Tsunade-sama's capacity for blending forgiveness and practicality in her approach to leadership. Though, I would add an honorific when I address her, since she can get…upset when disrespected."

"I suppose. This was her initiative, after all," Baki murmured conversationally before the two jounin sunk back into their game, each having a lot to digest considering the surprising new appointment they received earlier that morning.

(At the same time, Niigata province, Hi no Kuni)

Aburame Shino pushed the glasses on the bridge of his nose as he kept the rear position. His kikaichuu unnervingly buzzed beneath his skin, the bugs always acting uncommonly when in the presence of Uzumaki Naruto.

The enigmatic bug-host observed the long line of horse-drawn carts ahead of him, the subject of this protection mission. Naruto was the team leader, the Jinchuuriki sitting in a lotus position on the roof of the centermost cart.

Their formation was him at rear with his bugs and several of Naruto's clones. Yamanaka Ino and Tenten were in the center; the sensor and sharpshooter respectively able to detect and repel an initial charge, especially with Naruto being there with them, able to summon an insurmountable amount of clones and various ninjutsu. At the front of caravan were Hinata and Lee; Hinata leading them forward with her Byakugan and Lee offering support so she wasn't ambushed all on her lonesome.

Shino was still surprised he got promoted to chuunin alongside Neji, Naruto and Shikamaru. He had thought his attitude and words against the new rising star of Konoha early in the exams concerning the Kyuubi would've made Tsunade block his appointment.

However, while he still felt shame for his bigoted words back then, he still felt some resentment toward the son of the Fourth Hokage, but for entirely different reasons than he did before.

The rookie chuunin watched with growing uneasiness as how two genin kunoichi pined after the last of the Uzumaki, and he knew it was only a matter of time before it came down to blows. He was concerned for Hinata. It didn't take a doujutsu to see how deeply she cared for Naruto, nor did it take a genius to see Naruto's affections fell elsewhere – with Ino.

The bug user had a sinking feeling in his gut that, if things went south with the Yamanaka, Naruto would try to settle for the 'second best' option. The mere thought made the bug user bristle; Hinata was no man's 'sloppy seconds'! Not even if he was of such impressive lineage. She was his sister in all but blood, and he would never completely be at ease with Naruto as long as he threatened her heart.

"Hey, Shino, keep your head in the game. The enemy can be anywhere, even in Hi no Kuni," one of Naruto's clones spoke, landing beside him.

"If you were an enemy, Naruto, my kikaichuu would've devoured you alive," he deadpanned and watched with satisfaction as the clone paled a bit. It muttered something under its breath and leaped forward.

Shino was not used to being commanded by anyone who was his peer. Naruto was usually guarded by Hatake Kakashi or a jounin named Yamato. But considering the rumor mill of Kakashi's injury, it was not surprising the blond Jinchuuriki was more somber and unescorted for once. It probably also explained why their mission was within the ANBU scouting route for precautionary reasons.

They continued traveling for several long hours, before they reached the gates of their destination. They had stumbled on their way upon an ambush by several ignorant bandits on the way. The formation worked perfectly, the first wave was dispatched promptly by the combination of Lee and Hinata and the flanking forces were decimated by the sheer firepower generated by Ino, Tenten and Naruto.

He felt his presence on the mission was redundant but he dared not argue with the Hokage. If this was an attempt to 'get closer' to Naruto, it was an utter failure. He held a great deal of respect toward the blond professionally. His accomplishments were impressive, but, as a person, well, he just rubbed Shino the wrong way.

The kikaichuu-user watched Naruto iron out the payment details with their client before his attention wandered toward Hinata and Ino, who were conversing quietly a respectable distance from him.

Ino's expression was hostile and Hinata seemed somewhat uncomfortable, though he could see telltale signs of anger flickering in her lilac eyes. The Aburame made a small sound in his throat and approached the two kunoichi the moment he felt Ino's killer intent spike. 'This will not end well…'

"Ino-san, I'm just saying perhaps you should…" Hinata explained tentatively.

"Don't stick your nose where it doesn't belong, Hinata," the mind-walker interrupted rather tersely. "My relationship with Naruto is my business and everything about it is just fine!"

"Ino, p-please stay calm," Hinata cut in louder than before, her apprehension beginning to melt away at Ino's hostility. "I'm your teammate and friend. I'm just trying to help you. Can't you see n-nothing is fine? You're straining your relationship with all your deman—"

"My friend? Hah! As if!" Ino cruelly hissed, nipping the soft-spoken girl's unneeded criticism. "I know you've been lusting after Naruto for years now! I bet that'd suit you just fine if we broke up, so you could sweep in and pick up the pieces! Everyone knows all about your little crush and disaster of a date with him."

Shino owlishly blinked behind his tinted frames, his attempts to intervene cutting short when Hinata's whole body language seemed to change. What had Hiashi, Neji and Naruto done to sweet, tender-hearted Hinata? He had never seen her disposition quite so menacing and threatening. She was practically channeling her older cousin!

Ino seemed to shrink at the next words spoken in a bone-chillingly icy tone. Though the blonde was taller than Hinata, she seemed to sweat under the pressure of her voice and glare. "Yamanaka-san, I can understand you're upset and insecure about your relationship with Naruto-kun, but, just because you feel inadequate doesn't mean you are entitled to blame it on my friendship with him."

Hinata's next words were slow and cold, her Byakugan unconsciously invoked by her ire. "I will not be insulted by some selfish and shallow girl who can't even truly appreciate Naruto-kun. He works so hard…more than anyone else to protect everyone; to make time to be with you to the point that, sometimes, he skips sleeping hours for you, but you're too petty to see it."

Ino sputtered in indignation, looking properly chastised for a brief moment. Then, her infamous temper started climbing and her body trembled with fury. "You stay away from my boyfriend…you little…"

Before it could come down to profanity or blows, Naruto, who had meanwhile finished his haggling with the client, materialized between them via the Shunshin no Jutsu's burst of speed.

"Ino, Hinata, stop it now," he commanded in a surprisingly authoritative manner. Shino didn't recognize the gleam of coldness and domination in his eyes. What happened to the goofy, happy-go-lucky genin goofball that used to joke around all the time?

"You two are causing a scene, so cut it out. You're both better than this…" he spoke in a firm, calm manner and Shino watched with slight curiosity and fascination at the way both Ino and Hinata recoiled as if he slapped them.

The two kunoichi each seemed to look at the other doubtfully but nodded all the same. "Good," the Uzumaki scion casually stated, though there was a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Now that we're all cool again, I suggest we hurry up. Unless you want Gai-senpai to think we've been slacking off and feel it's necessary to train you harder…"

Shino blinked at the sudden consternation on Hinata's face and downright horror on Ino's. He wondered what, exactly, Gai did to his genin that was so horrible that the two feuding femmes broke apart and rejoined Lee and Tenten, even urging the other two genin to hurry.

Naruto chortled and motioned Shino to join him. Shino watched his fellow chuunin's back and a newfound respect mingled with suspicion filled him. Then, he glanced at the Hyuuga maiden, who stole a glance at the blond chuunin and kept herself pointedly away from Ino.

His chest tightened a bit, and he glared at the blond chuunin as he silently led them back home. "This is far from over, and this won't end well for anyone. Damn you, Uzumaki. Why does Hinata have to be so infatuated with you?"

Jutsu Glossary:

Kirigakure no Jutsu – Hidden Mist Technique - This displacement technique is a specialty of the Ninja from Kirigakure, where one causes a mist to spring forth by lifting up some water, then goes in and out of sight at will from within the pearly-white realm. The mist's thickness is controlled by the amount of chakra kneaded into it.
Kunai Kage Bunshin no jutsu – Kunai Shadow Clone Technique -The user creates a thousand shadow clones from one kunai, striking down the enemy, and entrapping him in a massive field of deadly projectiles.
Fuuton: Kami Oroshi- Wind Release: Godly Wind from the Mountain - This technique creates a vortex of wind to blast at a target.
Tsuchi Bunshin – Earth Release Shadow Clone - This technique creates a clone made of mud of the user. Since it's made of mud, it can continue to reform and mould itself back to its original shape. After reverting to mud, it can hold the opponent in place.
Bunshin Daibakuha – Clone Great Explosion - The user lures the target in, using a Shadow Clone as bait. The target, acting according to the principle of "attack to bring down the enemy," falls victim to a powerful explosion
Kaze Kage Bunshin – Wind Release Shadow Clone - This technique creates a clone made of wind of the user. Since it's made of wind, once it is dispersed the compacted wind creates a mediocre concussive force to disorient or push the enemy back or if used in conjunction with a fire can fuel and strengthen the flames.