A/N- Well, here are the stats as of last chapter; words-57,707 chaps.-14 reviews-90 hits-14,305 c2s-12 favorites-44 alerts-66.

Yahoo! My story is popular, and it's all thanks to you guys! So a big shout-out to everyone who reads my story and likes it, I wouldn't be here without you all!

Anyway, thee were a few of you who noticed the Ranma elements in my story, so I figure I should cover this now, before anyone decides to grumble. Ranma 1/2 was the first manga I ever picked up, and thusly, it's had a great influence on me and my style of writing, so there are going to be quite a few Ranma-esque jokes in my story, as well as a few scenes taken from the manga itself and reworked if I think a scene would fit in really well in my works. So, here's a challenge, how many Ranma references can you spot per chapter? Try it and see!

A bit of bad news- My friend Bobby, who owns the laptop that I've been doing all of my writing for this story on (I've been recovering from a surgery this entire time), wants his laptop back, so I'm afraid updates won't be coming as fast as normal, now they'll only come one every week or two, instead of eery few days like I've been doing. This is actually a double-edged thing though, because I can still work on the story on my own desktop, which can't connect to the internet, and since it'll be longer between the updates, I'll probably be able to make the chapters longer and with fewer mistakes, and maybe even post multiple chapters at a time. Would that be cool?

Note! There is Naruto/Hinata fluff in this chapter, for those of you who may have been grumbling that I'm taking the relationship too slow and putting too many obstacles in their way. There will be K.I.S.S.I.N.G.!

Chapter 14, Enter the Wantabis!

Tsunade was sitting at her desk, the paperwork for the morning finally done, and now she was reaching for the hidden compartment that had been put there by her grandfather, the Shodaime Hokage. It was a drawer that had been used by every single Hokage, and was sealed so that it would only open for the person who was recognized as the current Hokage. Bosth her grandfather and granduncle, who had been the first and second hokages respectivly, had kept important doucuments in the drawer, and it wasn't until the reign of the Third that had changed that, as he'd taken to hiding his personal copies of Icha Icha in there, and the Fourth had kept, surpriingly enough, his favorite childhood toy in there, an action figure given to him by the Third when he was a little boy. Tsunade sighed nostalgicly as she opened the drawer and pulled out her own form of comfort, cup and a bottle of chilled sake, kept cool by a small waterproof container that was filled with ice.

Tsunade sighed with content and was about to pour the elixer that would keep her going through the day, when a sudden, loud knock pounded onher door, causing the current leader of Konoha to jump a little in surprize, almost spilling her precious stress releiver. Quickly capping the bottle, Tsunade shoved it and the cup into the hidden drawer, closing it. "Come in." She commanded, shuffling some random papers on her desk, trying to look like she was doing something important.

The door poped open, Naruto coming through as he waved at Tsunade. "Heya Baa-chan!" He exlaimed, a foxy grin spread across his face as Shizune, Hinata, that girl who Tsunade had seen near the end of the invasion, and another unknown girl, whose chest was revealed even more than her own was, filed in right behind him.

Tsunade scowled a bit, but refrained from bopping Naruto on the head. "What do you want gaki? Have you assembled your team yet as ordered? Is this them?" She asked, eying the three girls as Shizune moved over to stand beside her.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I was stopping by here first so that I could get a bit more information. If I'm gonna be asembling a team, I need ta know what kinda force I need ta put together." He replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tsunade nodded. "Alrght, a fair enough request I suppose. We got a mission request this morning, given to us by one of the undermen of the new president of the Gato Trading and Shipping Company. Apparently they've recovered from the blow dealt them when Gato himself died, and now they are seeking revenge against those who they felt wronged them, and they wanted to start with the assassination of the bridge builder, Tazuna. I suppose that they wanted it to be a poetic justice, Konoha nin helped Tazuna free wave, so now they want Konoha nin to help bring it's savior down. We turned down the mission of course, but there's no telling what else that company might do. That's why I need you to put together a team to do some recon in wave to determine if we should build an outpost there to provide a steady protetion for Wave, seeing as we have important trade routes with them." She informed.

Naruto nodded, looking more than a little pissed at what he'd heard. "Alright, I accept. Why me though?" He asked.

Tsunade sighed. She loved the gaki, she really did, but he had too man questions sometimes. "Because Naruto, with the exeption of Sakura and Kakashi, you know wave the best. There's also a chance that Gato Company could seek to hire nin from other countries, and you accel at combat under uncertain situations. And finally..." She coughed out something, turning her head.

"Eh?" Naruto asked, a dumb look on his face.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "... I said, and the last reason is because the people of Wave see you as their hero... and they even named their great bridge after you." She grumbled.

Naruto blinked, a surprized look blossoming. "Eh?" He intelligently asked again.

Tsunade slapped her forehead, he could be so dense at times! "You heard me! Now get going, I want you to leave within the hour." She commanded.

Naruto blinked again, rubbing the back of his head. "Alright." He said, somewhat uncertainly as he mentally ran through the list of people he knew, trying to put together a team in his head. "Well, I'm gonna go then, I'll be back in a few weeks. Keep my seat warm for me, cuz' I'm gonna claim it when I get back!" He said to Tsunade with a grin plastered on his face, walking away with a wave, Hinata, Yumi, and Chisaki following rght behind him.

"Be careful gaki." Tsunade whispered.

Shizune turned her head towards her master. "Did you say something m'lady?" She asked politely.

Tsunade shook her head. "It's nothing..." She trailed off, looking down at her hands. "... Actually, I've got a question for you Shizune. If you knew who someone's parents were, and they didn't know, would you tell them, even if it means that it could potentially cause problems?" She asked.

Shizune cupped her chin with one hand as she thought about it. "Well, that would depend on the person. Who is it?" She asked.

Tsunade got up from her desk and walked over to the window, staring down at the streets below as she saw Naruto and the others exit the tower. "... It's Naruto." She said quietly after several seconds.

Shizune gasped in shock. "You know who Naruto's parents are?! Who are they?!" She asked in disbelief.

Several more seconds passed as Tsunade put one hand on the glass of the window. "Naruto's parents were..." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Kushina Uzumaki of Whirlpool and... Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage." She said quietly, causing Shizune to gasp.

Shizune felt as if she were about to faint from such a shocking revelation as she grabbed onto her master's desk for support. How hadn't she seen it earlier? They looked so much alike that it should have been glaringly obvious to even a blind man! "Are you sure?' She asked meekly, remembering the crush she used to have on the man.

Tsunade nodded in silent confirmation.

Shizune straightened herself as best she could. "... Then yes, I would tell him if I were you. Naruto has already sacraficed so much for the village, he deserves some comfort at least." She answered Tsunade's question, her tone solemn.

Tsunade looked up at the Hokage's monument, at Minato's face. "Alright then. When Naruto returns, I will announce to the whole village that he is the heir to the Namikaze name, and shall also announce that he is my chosen successor for when I step down as Hokage." She said quietly.

Shizune gasped again. "Are you sure that he's ready m'lady? Naruto is still so young and naive!" She exlaimed.

Tsunade nodded. "I've given it a great deal of thought. It will be a few years yet before I step down, but we're in an age where we'll see great changes to our future, and the best thing for Konoha isn't someone who is good at political manpulations, but someone who can lead with a strong fist and a pure heart. Besides, the only other person who is qualafied that I'd choose is Kakashi, and he's too important for other things right now." She replied.

Shizune nodded mutely as Tsunade returned to her desk to resume her work, the next set of documents that she needed to look over would be arriving soon.

"So, who are you going to take with you?" The question broke Naruto from his reverie as he turned his head to look at the speaker, Yumi.

"I dunno, if you wanna know the truth." The former jinkuuri replied wth a shrug. "This will be my first time as a mission leader, and I guess I can't just take random people that I like, that could turn out bad. Like Baa-chan said, I do best when it comes to having to act on my instinct in a fight, but I'll nee more than that since this is a recon. I'll probably take Shikamaru, since he's the most intelligent out of our group, and he can come up with the best plans. Apart from that, Gai-sensei's team would probably be the best for the job, since they can cover fighting and recon, with Neji and all, and I'll probably take my team as well, since we're mostly known in wave, and Sakura can provide important medical support if things get bad, not to mention that Kakshi-sensei is probably the most well-rounded ninja I know. Sai... Well, he might be useful somehow." Naruto said, ticking off the names with his finger.

"A-ano, that's a l-lot of puh-people..." Hinata stuttered, walking beside Naruto on his left side.

Yumi nodded, taking Naruto's other side. "Yeah, but what about us? We can be useful too! Even Hinata-baka has the Byakugan at least." She said.

Naruto shook his head. "Sorry girls, but I chose the people I did for a reason. Your a nice person Yumi-chan, but I really don't know you and your team all that well, and ya really need to be nicer to Hinata-chan." He said, finishing by slightly scolding the girl, making her flush with embarassment while Hinata smirked slightly. Holding his hands out, Naruto stopped all three girls in their tracks as he turned to face them, looking back and forth between Hinata and Yumi. "Girls, I really don't know what's going on here, but I know ya both like me and wanna date me, and that's cool and all, but you two have gotta stop fighting, your acting like air-headed fangirls!" He exlaimed, crossing his arms over his chest as he squinted at them.

Both Hinata and Yumi blushed, looking away while Chisaki pouted in the background, feeling forgotten. "Sorry Naru-kun, it's just a natural reaction I guess." Yumi said quetly.

Hinata nodded. "Y-yes, I will admit th-that I've been acting foolish s w-well, but I've loved you for ye-years, and th-then, when I finally mu-mustered my courage, this girl c-came along, an-and I felt threatened..." The Hyuuga heiress added, bowing her head.

Naruto nodded his head. "Alright, I guess I can understand..." He said, even though their reasons flew almost miles over his head. "... However, Yumi-chan, I hardly even know ya! We met on the day I rescued ya, but how can you claim to love me so quickly? And you Hinata-chan, sure, you told me recently that ya like me, and I agreed to go on some dates with ya, but I hardly even know ya! You always shied away during our years together in the academy, and when I would talk to ya, you'd alwas turn red and would hardly talk, if at all! I'm sorry girls, but I really don't know what to feel at the moment." He continued.

Both girls looked as if they were close to tears at that point, their heads hung low, and Chisaki, being the outgoing person that she was, decided to take the initiative before things got worse, striding fowrward as her eyes blazed with a rightous fury. A loud, resounding smack echoed above even the common din of sound that was in the street, causing both Yumi and Hinata's heads to snap up, seeing a shocked Naruto standing there, his mouth hanging open and an angry red mark in the shap of a hand on his right cheek. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" Chisaki growled, her hand still stinging from where she'd slapped him. "Both of these girls, as much as I hate to admit it, are in love with you Naruto-baka, and this is how you talk to them?! Are you that freaking dense?! You never, EVER, talk to a girl like that! You say you don't hardly know them? Well get to know them dammit! Go on dates with 'em, don't jump down their throats about it! Kami knows that they like ya, hell, I kinda like ya, and I hate guys! But if I ever hear ya talking to either of them like that again, I swear to god I'll tear you a new one, and no pervy jutsu will stop me, understand?!" She asked angrily, poking Naruto in the chest with each sentence.

Naruto, rubbing the spot where he'd been smacked, nodded dumbly, struck mute by the rage the girl was displaying. Hell, he'd had girls mad at him all the time, but he'd never experience such true anger by a member of the female gender before.

Yumi gasped, grabbing onto Chisaki's arm as she pulled the heaving girl back. "Naru-kun, I'm sorry..." She said quietly.

Naruto, broken from his stupor, scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Eh, Chisaki's right actually." He admitted, causing all three girls to blink in surprize as they stared at him, their sadness (and in one case, anger) momentarily forgotten, he was admitting that he was wrong?! "I'm sorry girls, I didn't know that I was being so harsh, but luckily, Chisaki stopped me from puttin' my foot in my mouth any worse than I did. So whadda ya say we forget what just happened, eh?" He asked, his tone pleading.

Both Hinata and Yumi blushed. "Ah-It's o-ok, Naru-kun" Hinata spoke up, Yumi nodding beside her.

Naruto grinned. "Great! Well... Since I've got that mission, I really can't do anything now, but how about when I get back, we go out, eh? I don't know how all that stuff works, but surely we can figure something out." He said, grinning as he continued to scratch the back of his head.

Hinata and Yumi turned an interesting shade of scarlet at almost the exact same time. He was asking them out? Sure, they both had to deal with him going out with the other at some point and time, but they'd gotten a date from hm, and they didn't even have to ask! "Sure thing Naru-kun." Yumi said with a grin. Looking down at her watch, the girl's eyes widened to comical proportions. "Oh crap, we're late for our team meeting! Sorry Naru-kun, but I've gotta run! You will go out with me when ya get back though, right?" She asked.

Naruto grinned, nodding. "Yep, sure thing." He replied casually.

"Great!" Yumi squealled as Chisaki mumbled something about stupid blonds in the background. Rushing forward, Yumi hugged Naruto and gave him a peck on the cheek, rankling Hinata. "Later! Be safe on your trip!" She exlaimed happily, grabbing Chisaki's hand and rushing off, pulling the suprized girl along.

Naruto blinked, unsure of what just happened. "Well, I guess I'll be going..." Hinata said from eside him, sounding dejected as she turned to leave.

Naruto reached out, grabbing Hinata's hand before the lavender-haired girl could leave. "Hinata-chan, please walk with me for a minute. I wanna talk to you." He said solemnly.

Hinata, surprized, nodded mutely as she and Naruto took off down the street at a steady, slow pace. "Y-yes, Naru-kun?" The girl asked uncertainly after they walked in silence for a few moments.

Naruto turned his head, smiling at the pale-eyed girl as he reached out, grabbing her hand in his own. "Hinata-chan, I hope you forgive me for taking Yumi-chan out, but I'm new to this whole thing, and I really don't know how to handle it." He said as they walked, hand-in-hand. "... However, I wanna go out with you first, to go on my first real date with you. And I was hoping you'd say yes." He grinned at her, squeezing Hinata's hand.

Hinata blushed a deep red. "Y-yes, Naru-kun, I would love to." She said demurely, scooting closer to the objet of her affections, pressing her shoulder against his.

Naruto nodded. "Great then! But Hinata-chan, there's something else that I wanna talk to you about. Something that I haven't gotten the chance to yet." The whiskered blond said solemnly, stopping.

"What is it?" Hinata asked, turning to look up at Naruto.

The boy sat down, patting the grass beside him in an offer for Hinata to sit as well. Looking around, the pale-eyed girl realized that they were in the same spot that she'd confessed her love to him at, by one of the small lakes that were within Konoha's walls. Sitting beside him, Hinata waited patiently for Naruto to speak. After a few moments, Naruto cleared his throat, staring out across the lake. "Hinata... Do you know my secret? About how... How I was the container for the Kyuubi?" He finally asked quietly.

Suddenly, the memory of their meeting with the odd, masked man who called himself Tobi sprang with perfect clarity into Hinata's mind. "Hai." She replied quietly.

Naruto looked down. "Well, those Akatsuki bastards took it from me, but even so... How could you even like me, knowing what I was?" His voice was just above a pained whisper.

Hinata looked at Narto, cupping his face with one hand as she turned his head until his eyes met hers. "Naru-kun... Even after I found out, the only thing you've ever been and will ever be is Naruto Uzumaki, the hero, the man, who helped the Yondaime Hokage protect us from utter destruction by an evil demon. You are the greatest, most noble person I've ever known, and you are the person who captured my heart, and will always have it, no matter what may come." She said without even the slightest hint of a stutter, smiling serenely at him.

"Hinata-chan..." Naruto breathed, reaching up with one slightly trembling hand, brushing Hinata's hair behind one of her ears. Without even realizing it, Naruto started to lean forward. Hinata leaned in closer as well, her lips opening slightly as she closed her eyes, her lips meeting his in a gentle, yet firm kiss. Slowly, Naruto's tounge tenativly probed against Hinata's ruby lips, and she opened them even further, allowing him access as her tounge met his, further deepening their second kiss. Under the brightly shining sun, the kissing teens wrapped their arms around one another as they lay back in the grass, unseen by any.

"Ok, what the heck is going on here?" Shikamaru's voie cut through the silence as he took in the scene before him. There, standing just outside of his house Was a grinning Naruto, an entire group behind him, looking as if they were ready for travel. Off to one side stood Sakura and Tenten, who had been talking quietly among themselves while Neji stood silently, his eyes closed. Rock Lee looked as if he were barely restraining himself from bouncing around. Near the rear, Kakashi and Gai stood, watching over the others while Sai stood near Naruto, smiling that perculiar smile of his.

Naruto chuckled as he scratched the back of his head. "Well, y'see Shikamaru, I've been ordered by Baa-chan to assemble a group for a B-rank recon mission to Wave country." He replied, explaining why they all looked ready to leave.

Shiakamaru nodded, pulling a pack of cigarettes from one of his chest pockets, lighting one up before putting the pack away again. "Ok, so what do you need me for? Looks like you've got more than enough people here already." The genius said lazily, blowing out a plume of smoke.

Naruto shrugged."Well, the truth is, I really don't know what's gonna happen on this mission, and Baa-chan told me to expect anything. That's why I want you to come, because your the best tactical guy I know! This is an important mission, and it's my first as the leader of a squad! Please Shikamaru?" Naruto begged, using his best imitation of a puppy-dog.

Shikamaru sighed, muttering something about troublesome blonds. "Is this true?" He asked, Looking at Gai, Kakashi, and Neji, the three jonin of the group.

Gai nodded, giving Shikamaru a grin and a thumbs-up. "That it is, our lazily youthful friend! Both Kakashi and myself confirmed this, and Lady Tsunade gave Naruto permission to take who he sees fit!" The bowl-cut jonin exlaimed.

Shikamaru sighed, seeing the pleading look Naruto was giving him. "... All right." He said, causing Naruto to whoop and leap into the air. "Just let me grab my travelling pack, and we can be on our way." He disappeared into his house.

Naruto grinned excitedly. "This is gonna be the coolest mission ever!" He exlaimed happily.

"This has gotta be the most boring mission ever!" Naruto exlaimed unhappily for the fifth time as the group walked along. It had been several hours since the group, which had been dubbed 'Super Awsome Team Naruto' by the hyper-active blond, had left Konoha, opting to walk along one of the trade roads rather than hop through the trees, in an effort to conserve energy in case they needed, and to watch for any suspicious activity, such as thieves who might try and rob passing caravans, which stopping them fell under their objective, or so Shikamaru claimed, though Naruto thought that it was just because the boy wanted to be lazy.

As they walked, the wind blew into their faces, causing most of the group to sigh happily. Kakashi tilted his head though, his nose twitching. Motioning with one hand, he sent a silent signal, to which Gai, Neji, shikamaru, and Sai all nodded, Neji quietly activating his Byakugan while Sai palmed a scroll. "-and so I was li-huh?" Naruto had been in the middle of telling Sakura and Tenten a funny story when Shikamaru put a hand on his shoulder, motioning for him to be quiet.

Neji scanned the area, almost immdiately spotting the people Kakashi had detected. "There are four of them. They don't look to be ninja. They're armed with different weapons, and a few throwing ones as well. All four of them are pretty large and seem out of shape." He informed quietly.

Gai sighed and Kakashi smacked his face with his hand, groaning. "Oh Kami, don't tell me it's-"

Kakashi never got to finish as a smoke bomb went off, covering the area in front ouf the group in a haze. "TREMBLE IN FEAR, FOR WE ARE THE GREATEST WARRIORS TO EVER GRACE THE ELEMENTAL COUNTRIES!" Four voices boomed from the screen. First to burst from it was a man who looked to be in his early twenties, his skin a deep tan color. He was a large, fluffy man, standing at 5'10 and looking to be around 270lbs. He had short, curly dark brown hairand his eyes were covered by a thick air of glasses. The man clumsily twirled a large axe beore bouncing the butt of it on the ground, almost loosing his grip on the weapon. "Wantabi Sexhai!" He exlaimed, thrusting the axe into the air with one hand, posing.

The second to burst from the smoke screen was a man who was slightly taller and older than the first, sporting a lighter tan than his companion. He carried himself better, and looked to be in much better shape, but it looked fairly clear that he didn't do too much training either. He had hair as dark as Sexhai's, though it was shorter and it looked like a small swath had been cut from the front. "Wantabi Coolah!" He announced, drawing a longsword, holding it with both hands over his head.

The third came out much more calmly than the first two, walking forward. He was somewhere between Sexhai and Coolah in terms of his height and girth. He, unlike the others, had bright red hair, and was extreamely pale, intoning that he didn't get out much. "Wantabi Rulah." He said in a voice that suggested either boredom or uncaring, resting one hand on the handle of a katana at his waist.

"And finally, Wantabi Strongah!" Announced the last man, bursting from the smoke. He, like the others, seemed to be soft and out of shape, though he was probably the tallest of the group, if maybe by a half inch. He, like Sexhai and Coolah, had dark brown hair and brown eyes, though they were hidden behind thick glasses. He swung a spear aorund a few times, crouching in front of the others as he held the butt of the spear above his head, the tip beside his foot, pointed at the ground, making his pose look like a terrible imitation of a popular spear-fighting style.

All four men were dressed in the same black short-sleeved shirts that announced 'THE WANTABIS!' in bold letters, and loose-fitting pants. "Together we are the mighty and unstoppable Wantabi ninjas!" They all announced simultaniously, posing together, causing the entire group in front of them to sweatdrop.

Naruto got over his surprize at the sudden appearance by the four odd people. "Hey, just who the heck are you guys?!" He shouted, pointing at them.

Kakashi sighed. "Well, I was afraid this day would come. This is the most infamous group you all will ever meet. Team, meet the Wantabi gang." He said, letting ou a long-suffering sigh. "They are the single worst group of fighters either Gai or myself have ever had the misfotroune of meeting, or any other ninja for that matter." He explained.

"Hey, that wasn't nice Kakashi-baka!" The one identified as Strongah exlaimed angrily, rattling his spear.

Sakura looked confused. "But sensei, if they're so useless, then why are they so infamous?" She asked, sparing them a glance as they made faces at Naruto, who was turning red with anger.

"Who the hell cares, I'm gonna kick their asses!" Naruto roared, thrusting his fists into his kunai and shuriken pouches, running at the group, who suddenly took fighting poses.

"Naruto!" Sakura exlaimed, getting ready to charge in after her teammate, only to be stopped when Kakashi put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Sensei?" She asked uncertainly, looking up at him.

Kakashi shook his head. "No Sakura. Trust me, you don't want to be a part of this battle. Between Naruto and those four, this will likely be the silliest and most embarassing match you'll ever see." He said, Gai nodding beside him in agreement.

Naruto, rapidly coming upon the four Wantabis, threw his hands out, sending a brace of shuriken and kunai flying at them. "ZOMIGAWD! POINTY THINGIES FLYING AT US!" Strongah screamed in a high-pitched voice as all four started started to freak out, running around in random circles, somehow dodging all of the shuriken and kunai, which went flying uselessly into the underbrush.

"What the hell was that?!" Neji asked in shock as Sakura's and Tenten's jaws dropped.

Gai patted his young student on the back. "That, Neji, is one of the reasons why the Wantabis are so infamous. In addition to their poorly executed plans that almost always wind up doing more good than harm, they are known for possessing an uncanny ability to dodge almost any attack,especially fatal blows, with an ability that some say borders on the precognative, of which some say such dodging skills exist only in the truest of cowards. I don't know if that's true or not, but I did one time see them in a battle a long time ago when I was out on a mission to rescue the kidnapped princess of a small kingdom. IN the battle, which they'd stumbled upon, the entire area was engulfed in a huge fireball that was strengthened by a large gust of wind, and they looked to be caught in the middle of it, yet all fouur emerged from the flames with only smoking backsides, running away as they screamed girlishly." He told the group.

Lee looked up at his mentor, stars in his eyes. "You've rescued a princess Gai-sensei? Were you rewarded for your valor?" He asked.

Gai blushed a bit as he coughed into his hand and looked away. "Sort of..." He mumbled, embarassed.

"Hey, what's going on now? Are they planing on throwing weapons back at Naruto?" Sakura asked, watching as all four members put their weapons aside and pulled out an assortment of throwing weapons. Sexhai held a pair of throwing axes, Coolah had palmed some kunai, Rulah prepared some shuriken, and Strongah... "IS that a discus?' Sakura asked, bewildered.

"Quick, everyone take defensive positions!" Gai exlaimed as he and kakashi both pulled kunai out.

Everyone else, save Naruto, formed up as well, pulling weapons of their own. "What's going on? Surely they arn't good at throwing weapons!" Tenten said, a hint of anger in her voice. No one was better at ranged weapons than she was dammit!

Kakashi shook his head. "No, three of them have the accuracy of an average genin, but Strongah is the most feared person when it comes to throwing things you'll ever have the misfortoune of meeting." He replied.

Just as Tenten was about to retort, Strongah issued a mighty roar, spinning around a few times as he slung his discus as hard as he could at Naruto... causing the heavy disc to fly backwards, causing the other three Wantabis to scream and dive out of the way of the deadly projectile as it went spinning past, slamming into a tall, thin sapling, snapping it at it's base, causing the tree to fall forward, bouncing off of Coolah's head, causing the man to drop his kunai as he grabbed his head in both hands. "DAMMIT STRONGAH!" He yelled angrily, running up and kicking his friend in the knee.

Tenten blinked as almost everyone else facefaulted. "What was that?" She asked, unsure if her eyes were playig tricks on her. Was she under a genjutsu? Surely no one was that bad!

Kakashi shook his head. "Strongah is known as having the single worst aim in known history. I remember one time I was hired to guard a town that was under threat of being raided by a group o rouge ninja. Anyway, I was facing the rouges in a rocky canyon, when the Wantabis managed to stumble in the middle of our battle. Strongah threw a shuriken at them. The shuriken flew over the rouge's heads, bouncing off of the handle of a large zanpakto that one of the ninja, a man from Mist, had on his back. The shuriken struck the handle and went flying up, striking some rocks and dislodging them, causing an avalanche that decimated the rouges. No one died, but they were either too wounded or too scared by then to even think of continuing, and fled." He said as everyone sweatdropped, looking at Strongah, who was clutching his knee where Coolah had kicked it. He was really that bad at projectiles?!

Naruto, who'd just stood there, was growing angry. "Dammit, take this seriously!" He roared, charging the Wantabi gang.

"Who said we wern't?!" Sexhai shot back, throwing his axes at Naruto and grabbing his large axe up again, rushing to meet the charge with an overhead chop.

Naruto easily parried the axes and dodged around Sexhai's swing, bonking the large man on the back of his head, rushing between Coolah and Strongah, who were still arguing about Strongah's throwing skills and bopping them as well, before stopping before Rulah. "Your turn." He growled, balling his fists.

Rulah calmly grasped the hilt of his katana. "I'd like to see you try." He replied coldly, drawing the steel. "You cannot defeat me, for I am a master of... Kabuki style swordsmanship! WHOA CHA CHA CHA!" He exlaimed, holding the sword above his head with one hand as he thrust his other hand forward, palm out and his fingers splayed, cocking his knees as he bounced around on one leg.

This of course caused Naruto to facefault. "What the hell is that?!" He screamed, getting to his feet and charging at the man, taking a swing at him.

Surprizingly enough, Rulah dodged the attack, falling over onto his side and rolling out of the way, coming up as he slashed his katana defenively, trying to keep Naruto at bay. Surprized, Naruto fell back as the Wantabis grouped together again, brandishing their weapons menacingly. "You are a formidibale opponent indeed, Leaf shinobi!" Strongah exlaimed, sticking his spear into the ground and walking forward. "Thereby... I shall defeat you and your compatriots with my most powerful technique!" He exlaimed, reaching into some pockets.

"NOOO!!" The other three Wantabis screamed, charging at their compatriot. It was too late though. "SUPAH HOT PHOTOS!" The man screamed, leaping a foot into the air, flinging his arms out wide. Naruto took a defensive stance, wondering what was to come... when several pictures started to fall down all around them, each one a different picture of Strongah posing... naked.

"OH KAMI, MY EYES!" Coolah screamed, clawing at his eyes as the other two rushed over towards some bushes, feeling sick to their stomachs while Strongah stood there, a triumphant smirk on his face as he crossed his arms. Seeing the photos, Naruto turned green and clutched his stomach, turning around as he covered his mouth with his other hand.

"That was most unyouthful! You shouldn't do such things!" Lee exlaimed unhappily, looking away.

"I'm gonna be sick..." Neji muttered, having seen every photo due to his Byakugan, which he hadn't been able to deactivate in time to avoid the attack, Shikamaru nodding rihgt beside him, his eyes closed.

Tenten bended over, picking up one of the photos as Sakura peered over her shoulder. "How cute, it's so widdle!" She said in a fake baby voice, sniggering as Sakura laughed and pointed.

"Hey, it was cold that day!" Strongah cried out, an embarassed flush spreading across his face.

"Sure, whatever." Tenten said dismissively, tossing the photo back down.

Strongah sniffed as he and the other Wantabis jumped away. "Well get you back for this!" He exlaimed, pulling a smoke bomb out and tossing it down. The bomb exploded, releasing a rancid rotten eggs smell.

"Dammit, you used too much sulfer again!" The group heard the other Wantabis yell, followed by a thunk, before the smoke cleared, revealing that the Wantabi gang were nowhere in sight.

"Well, that was embarassing." Sai said, sporting the same smile he always wore, the others nodding in agreement as they sweatdropped.

A few days and a group of Bandits earlier, Naruto and the others reahed the entrance to the great bridge, the morning mists covering most of it. "well, here we are." Naruto sighed nostalgially, looking up as the mists began to clear, gasping along with Sakura when they saw the name of the bridge.

There, incribed on a bronze plate, were the words 'The Great Naruto Bridge, built by many, protected by few. We will never forget the Konoha ninja who saved our lives, and by Naruto Uzumaki, who saved our hearts." The sign proudly read.

-End-

A/N- Well, I've got a question for you all. Have I become a better writer than I was at the start? I would like to think so, but I'd also like to know what you all think.

Anyway, since Bobbo is coming to get the comp. on Friday, I'll have enough time to churn out one last chap before I'm reduced to posting only once every week or two. So, how did'ja all like the Wantabis? There the only people that I've introduced into the story that are based on real life people, and they'll pop in occasionally simply for slapstick fun. XD though, who knows, they might get an important role later...