So, yet another chapter has graced this site, and a somewhat long one, too. I've acquired a new beta editor, Kalisko, who has been helping along the way for this entire chapter. The better quality is more or less because of him. We've had our disagreements (boy, have we…), but overall, it's been a nice ride. Can't wait to work on more. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! As always, please read and review!

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs Masashi Kishimoto.

Previously on TT7:

The Time Traveler Four has finally informed Jounin Kurenai of the details of their passage through time. After enlisting in Team Eight's help, the C-Rank mission to the Country of the Waves began. After a quick battle with the Demon Brothers, the decision was asked for whether Team 7 wished to continue the mission. The mission progresses, and the rain intensifies.

Chapter Five

Sakura ran her hands through her very wet, long, pink hair, resolving right then and there to cut it as soon as she found the chance. Sliding off her hitai-ate, she shook her head violently from side to side, sending water flowing in small rivulets in all directions around her, much to the annoyance of Naruto standing right beside her. He glared at her, rubbing a hand across his face as he rid himself of extraneous water. She smiled softly at him in apology. Sighing, the blond forced out a breath in frustration as more and more droplets of water ran down his face. He felt compelled to send over a smirk at the other frustrated boy amongst their ranks, with the Uchiha's "duck-butt" hair falling down and framing his face. Sasuke glared at him as he, too, ran a hand through his hair.

They had just finished their boat ride from the Land of Fire to the small island of the Land of the Waves, with which they had endured what seemed to be an endless, heavy downpour of rain. The boat ride had been shaky and dangerous as the man who was steering them couldn't handle the ferocity of the ocean. Large waves had erupted around the tiny boat, making navigation all but impossible. Naruto had found himself in increasing situations where he desperately chose whether to stick to the boat using chakra, or whether to continue hiding himself and fall out of the boat. Towards the very end, none of them had had too much of a choice as one particular wave forced the boat to topside. Luckily, Kakashi had enough sense in him to save Tazuna and the rower, Mikishi, though carrying both had proved an annoying task.

Now, however, they were all walking towards Tazuna's village, though the rain hadn't let up in the slightest. The vessel looked back at Tazuna who was trailing behind them with Mikishi and Kakashi. Since the ride had been so miserable, what with the falling in the water and all, not much conversation had taken place; the jounin, bridge builder, and rower were more than likely discussing Tazuna's situation as they walked. That was what Naruto thought, anyway – not that he really cared one way or another. Turning to look back down the path, he cringed slightly as rain ran down his shirt, almost wishing he had his orange jacket for cover. He ran a hand through his hair again, the frustration within him rising ever so slightly. Speaking softly, he said, "Kurenai-sensei and Team Eight are due to meet us at the site. I'm not sure if they'll meet with us before or after we've engaged in battle with Zabuza."

"Honestly," Sakura interjected, "I'd rather they jump in after we start our fight."

Sasuke and Naruto looked at one another, each nodding slightly in agreement. "That might be best," Sasuke started slowly. "My question is how we're going to pull this off. Not like we can go and just slam Zabuza with a Chidori and a Rasengan."

Naruto was about to respond when the feeling of being watched ran down his spine, causing his eyes to widen slightly. When his two teammates looked at him simultaneously, he knew they had felt the feeling, too. Sliding his hand down into his kunai holder, he pulled out two, took a step backwards with his left foot, and slid around clockwise, his right foot sliding through the dirt as he launched the two kunai towards some vegetation to the team's left. The three men behind the genin were surprised at the sudden movement from the vessel, and Kakashi was about to step forward and demand an explanation when a hiss sounded out from the vegetation where Naruto had thrown his kunai. Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other quickly, their eyes narrowed. After their silent conversation, they both looked at Naruto who looked over at the trees, his hands deep in his pockets as his mouth bore a frown.

The five people present watched while Kakashi threaded through the vegetation towards where Naruto's kunai had went. The silver-haired man frowned slightly upon finding a frightened, white hare, small droplets of blood, and a piece of torn, tan fabric. Picking up both the hare and the fabric, Kakashi walked back to where Naruto was and slammed a fist into his head. A sudden desire to strike back rose up in the Kyuubi vessel, though Naruto quickly forced it down, choosing to glare at the jounin instead.

"Next time you want to act cool," said Kakashi, pushing the white hare into Naruto's hands, along with the piece of fabric, "make sure you know what you're really aiming at."

He turned away from the blond to head back towards his client, though several thoughts raged through his mind: where did the white hare come from since it wasn't yet winter? From whom was that piece of fabric torn from? The people that are targeting Tazuna, he thought quickly, seem to have appeared quicker than I expected.

Naruto scowled after the jounin, but turned to look at the fidgeting hare in his arms. Noticing something interesting, his right eyebrow rose as he let go of the hare and inspected the piece of fabric. Sakura and Sasuke moved closer to him to look at it as well, their own eyebrows lifting in confusion. "Hey," began Naruto, as a horrible thought came to him. "Doesn't this material look familiar, somehow?"

Sasuke took the fabric from the blond's hands and felt the texture of it. "It kind of feels like the fabric from Hinata's jacket. Kind of."

"Oh?" said Sakura, a grin growing on her face. "And how would you know how her jacket felt? Have you touched it that much to the point of where you've memorized the feeling?"

Naruto grinned as he caught on, saying, "Wow, Sasuke. Doing the moves on our favorite Hyuuga girl! Never thought you had it in you!"

The Uchiha sputtered in embarrassment and indignation, but was saved from having to answer when a soft whistle went through the air. His eyes widened along with Naruto's and Sakura's as they all moved to hit the ground. Suddenly, Sasuke remembered their two tagalongs and quickly formed a cross seal as he said, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The clone of Sasuke touched the ground softly before launching himself towards Mikishi, a tidal wave of mud erupting behind him. Sliding around the Mikishi, the clone pushed the man towards the ground just as a large sword raced over everyone's body. The sword cut Sasuke's clone into two and with a gasp of pain, it burst into smoke and vanished. Kakashi's one eye raced to meet Sasuke's, who pointedly ignored it in preference of looking over at their new enemy, though the latter felt slight trepidation while doing so.

Naruto stood up quickly, glaring over at the man who had suddenly appeared and stood standing on the sword which was now embedded into a tree. "So much for not showing any fancy stuff," muttered Naruto softly, but Sasuke managed to hear him. Giving the blond a glare, he lowered himself into a fighting stance.

Motioning for the two men to stay back, Kakashi moved forward towards the newcomer, making sure his stride was slow and casual. Coming within a short distance of the newcomer, he said, "Momochi Zabuza, right? An exiled ninja from the Kirigakure. Wasn't really sure if it was actually you, considering the weather today."

"Copy-nin Kakashi." A low laugh rumbled from his throat. "You are going to give that old man to me. Or, you will die."

"Which one?" Kakashi said, trying to buy time. "Since there's obviously two."

Zabuza eyes flashed dangerously for a moment, but then just as quickly returned to their original frosty state. "You can either hand the bridge builder to me now, or I can take him after I soil the ground with your blood. It's your choice." He jumped off his sword and effortlessly pulled it out of the tree. In one smooth motion, he clasped it into the sheath on his back. "I suggest you hand him over, now. You clearly don't know who you're dealing with."

"Huh," the Sharingan-wielder continued, reaching to pull up his hitai-ate and show his left Sharingan eye. "Sorry if I don't feel like doing that. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura! Formation Charlie!"

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Naruto, along with Sasuke and Sakura, made a triangular formation around the bridge builder and rower. Kakashi watched as Zabuza vanished and reappeared over a large lake in front of him, chakra causing the water to swirl around him violently. The copy-nin looked back and forth quickly as mist began to shroud the area and Zabuza's voice called out:

"Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu."

Kakashi walked forward slowly, his eyes shifting to and fro as he scanned the area. Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly as heard Zabuza call out,

"Eight points. The larynx, spine, lungs, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidney, and heart… Which vital organ do you want to be struck first?"

Gritting his teeth, Kakashi formed the Ram seal quickly and expelled a flow of chakra, pushing the mist away as easily as wind. Thunder erupted in the area, and the jounin realized his range of vision had not lessened much more than originally. Seconds later, flashes of lightning ran through the sky, with bolts running and touching down right in front of where Naruto stood guard. The left over static electricity swirled around the blond, causing him to tense greatly. If at all possible, the rain began pouring even harder, with gusts of wind starting to pick up around the area. These battle conditions, thought Naruto, cornflower-blue eyes wide, are nearly impossible to fight in! Why is this happening?

Feeling an energy signature appear, Kakashi turned quickly to see a large ball of blue chakra spinning around in the air, deflecting Zabuza from his strike point. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi, Tazuna, and Mikishi all looked up in the air with surprise, each hardly believing what they were seeing. Zabuza flipped in the air and slid back through the mud towards the lake where he crouched down, scowling at the floating ball of chakra. Slowly, the chakra ebbed away and in its place was a young woman, her lavender eyes narrowed as she spun in the air. Tilting her head back, she flipped backwards to land behind the genin and their clients, her sopping, short, midnight-blue hair clinging to her face as she landed. Standing up slowly, Hyuuga Hinata frowned at Zabuza, calling out, "Sorry, Zabuza-san. It won't be that simple."

Shocked, Hatake Kakashi stared at the girl, unable to believe she had just appeared out of nowhere, and with an entrance of an attack he had never seen in action. Naruto and Sakura stared at the Hyuuga, unable to believe their eyes. Sasuke smirked slightly, thinking, So, team Eight is making their debut. About time.

He moved out of position when he saw her clutch her left side, wincing as she sank down to the ground. Moving towards her, he stopped as three other people appeared directly beside the girl. Yuuhi Kurenai, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba looked over at him, the latter two with disinterest. Kiba moved to help aid the Hyuuga as Kurenai vanished and appeared next to Kakashi, her red eyes focused and intimidating. About to ask what was going on, Kakashi stopped when Kurenai looked him, her gaze unwavering. "Mind asking questions later, Kakashi-san?" she said, having to shout because of the storm. "I assure you, I will explain everything once we take care of Zabuza."

Nodding slightly, Kakashi turned to move forward along with Kurenai towards the missing-nin still crouching on the lake. Zabuza narrowed his eyes at the two Konoha jounin, finding himself at bad odds. Pursing his lips behind his bandages, he gave two small whistles, and within seconds, another person was standing next to him. Kurenai's eyes narrowed slightly as she took in the new person's appearance, identifying him as the "Haku" Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto had told her about. He's so young! I thought those three were spinning tales!

Kakashi, realizing the stakes had just been upped, moved into an offensive position, while Kurenai's hands flashed into various seals. The four people on the lake vanished from Kiba and Shino's vision, each boy wondering what was going on. They turned back to see Sasuke nurturing a wounded Hinata while the storm raged around them. Kiba turned to Naruto whose eyes appeared to be flicking back and forth as he looked over at the lake.

"What the hell is going on?" shouted Kiba, his voice nearly drowned out by the roar of the winds. "One day we're in Konoha, thinking about doing another D-mission, and the next, Kurenai-sensei's hauling us out here for reconnaissance!"

Naruto turned his glare onto the other boy, his eyes glowing as he yelled out, "This isn't the time! Watch over the client! You, too, Shino!" he barked out at the other boy.

Wincing when the wind turned the rain towards his face, Naruto brushed a hand over his face, yelling out, "What the hell kind of storm is this!"

"It's a typhoon," came the answer, as Sakura moved close to him. She shouted, "This is a small island surrounded by water – and we just happened to get caught up into a storm turned typhoon. It's low-key though, so it shouldn't be blowing us off the face of the earth anytime soon…but I would try to stay on the ground as much as possible."

The vessel's eyes widened, but quickly narrowed when he saw Shino and Kiba still standing around doing nothing. "I gave you two orders!" he shouted angrily. "Do as I said!"

Taken aback, the dog-boy and bug-boy looked at each other before running to move to Tazuna and Mikishi's sides. Sasuke helped Hinata stand slowly while she still gripped her side. Her eyes opened slightly and she turned to glare at Naruto, much to his chagrin and confusion. "You just had to throw the extra kunai, didn't you!" she yelled at the boy, her teeth gritted. Naruto stared at her with disbelief before the color drained from his face. "I didn't mean to hurt you, Hinata! I'm really sorry – I thought it was Zabuza!"

Hinata shook her head, sighing as she shouted out, "It's fine, it's fine. I was just bitter. I'm out of this fight anyway – the Chuuzuri Hakkeshou Kaiten drained my chakra completely. The most I can do now is just help Kiba and Shino guard the client. You three, however, need to go help Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei!"

"Will you be okay by yourself?" asked Sasuke, frowning at the girl. She gave him a small grin and softly kissed his cheek, much to everyone's surprise. "I'll be fine," she continued. "Now, go!"

Sasuke and Naruto gave her one last look before passing Sakura and racing towards the lake. Sakura stood her ground in front of Hinata, leaf-green eyes narrowed. "Lay down," she commanded, "so I can heal you."

Hinata stared at her before shaking her head. "No, conserve your chakra – I'll be fine. Go help the boys!"

Sakura grasped Hinata's shoulder, and pushed down hard, causing the Hyuuga to go plummeting to the ground, gasping as pain struck her. As Sakura knelt down next to the other girl, Kiba and Shino watched in awe as she held her hands over Hinata's wound and as green chakra slowly crept out of Sakura's hands. Sakura grimaced slightly – she didn't have very much chakra to do too much healing yet, but this injury would be well within her abilities. Hinata stared at her from where she lay on the ground, sweat intermingling with rain as she forced herself to remain still. She felt the mud encase her, but relaxed slowly when the pain began to ease. Sakura sighed slightly as she reached behind her into her medical belt for gauze. She gave the boys a sharp glare which caused them to turn away quickly before pushing up Hinata's jacket and shirt. Making the Ram seal, she allowed her chakra to provide a type of cover from the rain and mud as she wrapped the gauze around Hinata's stomach.

Forcing herself back to consciousness, Hinata pushed herself up slowly, pushing down her jacket as she went. Sakura patted Hinata's shoulder a couple of times before rising up and giving a half-wave as she said, "This should be enough for now – I'll heal your scar tissue when we finish this battle, so hang tight until we finish up."

"Thanks, Sakura," Hinata said softly, before realizing Sakura probably couldn't hear her due to the storm. Sakura stared down at her with a frown before it turned into a soft smile as she nodded her acceptance. Tilting her chin up slightly as a method of farewell, she ran over towards the lake, bypassing Shino and Kiba with a trail of wind and mud erupting up in her wake. The two boys stared after the rosette, each with his eyes wide, and Tazuna and Mikishi were not in any better of a condition. Kiba swallowed deeply, feeling his body tremble at the speed Sakura had just displayed.

"Hey, Shino?" he asked, his voice raised. The other boy turned to look at him, ever so silent. Kiba looked towards the other boy, hands shaking as he asked, "Was Sakura always able to do that? I didn't know she could heal and run like that… Was she always so strong?"

Shino didn't have an answer he could say with good faith, so he instead said nothing and faced forward to look at the battle ensuing ahead, though he couldn't really depict anything. From where she sat, Hinata's eyes were shadowed as she looked from one of her teammates to the other. Standing up slowly, though her pain had already eased long before, she stared ahead in the direction of the lake. Her short hair waved about endlessly, faint marks appearing and receding as the tendrils whipped against her skin. Frowning slightly, she ignored the pain and her mouth tightened.

They were losing.

Naruto slid across the water, baring his teeth as he glared at the Mizu Bunshin of Zabuza, finding himself feeling increasingly irritated as the Bunshin continued to evade his hits. Looking to his right, he found Sasuke having a similar problem, and he cursed. They were faster than before, had more insight than before, had more people than before, but were still losing, like before! Thinking of them as annoying brats, Zabuza had immediately unleashed a stockpile of Mizu Bunshins, with which he, Sasuke, and now Sakura, were still fighting. His blue eyes shifted to glare over at where Kakashi was fighting against Zabuza, and where Kurenai was fighting Haku. Kakashi had already been using the Sharingan for ten minutes, and was bound to soon become exhausted, where Kurenai was having trouble keeping up her energy for a high speed battle. As Naruto ducked under the Mizu Bunshin's sword, named the Kubikiri Houchou, he raced forward and slammed his kunai into the stomach of the clone. Water spilled out of the clone before it collapsed completely, though Naruto was sent back further from the main battle as two more clones advanced on him. He felt frustration and anger run through his veins and dashed towards them in a rage.

Not too far away from where Naruto waged his battle, Sasuke slid around the lake, dashing across and around large waves like a trained acrobat as he sped towards his targets. His red Sharingan eyes, complete with his spinning three tomoe, flashed through the darkness of the storm as he blazed near his enemies. Jumping off one stray wave, he spun around in a tight circle while bringing out two fuuma shuriken and throwing them down at the three clones he was up against. Smirking as he saw them go towards their targets, he gritted his teeth tightly when two people jumped in the way and splashed down into the water. Completely stunned, Sasuke just barely noticed that his large shuriken had been deflected and sent back to him. Shit! he thought quickly, as he avoided one midair, but got hit with the other. What, Sasuke thought, his eyes widening as pain shot through his right shoulder the shuriken had embedded itself in, stopped my attack?

He heard a cry come from the direction Naruto was located, and he painstakingly turned his head over to look. Just before he hit the water, Sasuke saw Naruto get sliced up by several senbon. Hitting the barrier of the water hard, Sasuke felt himself fall downward, his hair floating around him as he opened his blood-red eyes. Air escaped from his lungs as he was quickly alerted to oncoming presences, and he pushed himself to look around him. The first thing he felt was the slicing of his skin from small, sharp object, and he let out a yell of pain. Turning awkwardly in the water, his eyes widened when he saw four people racing towards him: two Mizu Bunshin of Zabuza…and two clones of Haku. Sasuke shifted backward slightly before racing towards the surface, his lungs burning as he forced himself to go faster, and faster, and faster. Upon breaking the surface, Sasuke gathered energy into his hands and feet, and sped forward, hearing the breaking of the surface from the enemies behind him. He slid around on the rough ridges of the waves, before again screaming as he felt something slice through him.

"Ah!"

Naruto rose up from the water, his wet, golden-blond hair falling around his face and hiding parts of his eyes as he glared over at the clones he was fighting. His eyes flickered from cornflower-blue to fiery-red and back again. Controlling his anger as he fought to keep from releasing one of the two Kyuubi's chakra, Naruto breathed in and out hard. Though he hadn't used any major attacks just yet, keeping afloat on the angry waves of the lake proved tiresome and taxing on his chakra supply. "That's it," he growled out, lifting his hands to form a cross seal with his index and middle fingers on both hands. His teeth tightened as blue chakra swirled around him and caused a small whirlpool to swirl around him. "You bastards," he yelled out at the three Zabuza and two Haku facing him, "are dead!

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Just as nineteen Bunshin surrounded him, he heard Sasuke's scream, feelings of panic and unmasked horror running through his mind. Naruto turned around quickly, eyes wide as he saw Sasuke fly through the air and slide into the water. Body trembling slightly, he suddenly felt himself grow calm and turned to face his opponents, his eyes a deep red. Naruto narrowed them slightly as a burst of red chakra suddenly flared up around him. If he noticed the white, unearthly glow around him, he might have stopped to reconsider his actions, but having taken no notice of it, Naruto again sped towards his opponents. He didn't notice someone come running towards him.

Sakura reached the water just in time to watch her fiancé begin to glow a red color from his chakra, before a borderline of white curved around him. Surprised and more than a little disturbed, she caught a small glow in her peripheral vision and glanced over to another side of the lake where a white light was shining through the water. Surprised ever further, she looked down at herself to see the same white light glinting around her. Footfalls behind her had her turning to look at a slightly out of breath Hinata, the latter also with a white line gleaming from around her. Hinata's pale eyes flashed over to look at her, her eyes bearing the question Sakura held: what was that white light?

As soon as Naruto gathered up chakra for a purplish-colored Rasengan, Sakura felt pain strike her from the inside out, and felt as if another presence was trying to take over her mind. She fell down to her knees on the water, and from some rational point in her mind, took notice as Hinata fell to the ground in a similar fashion. Her leaf-green eyes widened slightly as she felt pain race through her torso and limbs, feeling like strings of fire had been sent raging through her veins. When the fire soared around sensitive organs in her body, she couldn't help but release a horrifying scream, as she fell through the water and sank, alongside with Hinata hitting the ground completely and not rising again.

Naruto turned his eyes to look over at the space of water Sakura had just occupied, holding a kunai in his left hand as his Rasengan slowly dispersed. He urged his small troop of clones forward to finish off his enemies as his eyes began flickering from a dark, fiery-red to his normal cornflower-blue. Naruto felt his heart sink as he noticed Sakura was gone from his sight. Glancing around him at the now nearly empty lake, except for where Kakashi and Kurenai waged their battle on the other side, he measured the danger to be nothing short of nil. He sent the remainder of his clones, a measly count of three, to the other side of the lake where Sasuke had sunk under, and just as he was about to dash underwater to get Sakura, he felt a pain run through his chest. Grunting slightly, he stood up straight and clutched at his the front of his now torn V-neck shirt, eyes narrowed as he tried to understand what had happened. He felt the pain ebb away, and wondered if he had just imagined it. Turning again to go save Sakura, he felt a burst of fire race through his body threefold and he sank down to one knee as he clutched at his chest, his mouth open in a silent scream.

Pain began to also cloud around his head, and Naruto noticed offhand one of his clones running towards land carrying an unconscious Sasuke, and another one diving down to get Sakura. With his right hand clutching at his head and his left clutching at his chest, Naruto felt the pain began to take over him, and he let out a piercing cry, his eyes wide with fear and confusion. A spasm went through the vessel as he fell to his other knee on the water, barely able to keep himself conscious on the horrendous waves. Forcing his gaze up, he noticed with blurry vision as his second clone dragged Sakura to land and came to aid him, along with the other two clones. The three clones pulled at him, and moved him across the water as he felt his chakra control begin to slip. Just as he was about to slide down into the water, his clones tossed him over onto land, and he rolled through the mud, sliding until friction finally stopped him.

Naruto clutched at his stomach as he laid facedown in the mud, his body convulsing slightly as the pain grew more and more. From afar, Shino and Kiba noticed with disbelief as the, in their minds, super powerful Naruto convulsed on the ground. It was Kiba who moved forward first, charging towards the four people lying on the ground, his mind having already forgotten his assigned task. Sliding in the mud as he struggled to come to a stop, he bent down to check on Hinata first, panicking slightly when he felt a weak pulse. Though she was unconscious, her face was contorted with pain, and upon checking Sasuke and Sakura, found their conditions to be much the same. Turning slowly to look at Naruto, Kiba pushed down his fear and walked over to the seemingly struggling blond, placing a hand gently on the vessel's shoulder.

Not having felt Kiba's touch at all, Naruto moved to clutch his head, the pain splitting him apart. "Argh," he groaned, eyes closed tightly as he convulsed. "G-get out my head…leave me alone…"

"Naruto?" asked Kiba, concern rushing through his mind as reached down to touch the blond again. Just then, as he was about to do so, a rush of white chakra ran around Naruto, spiraling around his and Kiba's body and pushing back the mud in waves. "Don't…" began Naruto, his eyes wide as he pushed himself onto all fours. "Don't…"

The white chakra burst into glittering white flames in front of Kiba, Shino, Tazuna, and Mikishi's eyes, each gazing up at it with frightful wonder. The chakra raced across the mud and threw Kiba into the air towards the lake where he hit the water flailing; his dog, Akamaru moved out of Kiba's jacket and bit down on Kiba's jacket as the boy moved to the surface. His eyes widened even more as the white chakra flew around Naruto, his eyes a glittering blue. "Don't…" Naruto started again, as the chakra grew in more proportion and swept across the land to knock back a surprised Shino, Tazuna, and Mikishi.

"Don't screw with me!"

The white chakra roared up towards the sky before slowly dissipating and leaving an exhausted Naruto in its wake. Slowly, Naruto felt the pain in his head disappear, as well as the pain in his body, and he looked over towards where Tazuna was positioned, his breathing labored and unsteady. Gritting his teeth, he rose to his feet and looked back behind him towards where his friends were. Aside of an angry, even more thoroughly soaked Kiba, and three exhausted time traveler friends, as well as a safe client, nothing was amiss. As Naruto moved to walk towards Tazuna, his bangs falling over his hitai-ate as he trudged along, he felt a sharp presence make itself known. He turned his body around slowly, his eyes moving to look back at the lake, when the angry eyes of Zabuza raced by him. His eyes widened in shock, he stood unmoving as Zabuza ran past him towards Tazuna.

A cry made its way towards his ears:

"No, Zabuza, don't!"

Ever since they had received the stupid mission due to Naruto's whining, Kakashi had felt something oddly bizarre about the entire thing. Even though his genin team may have completed several D-Rank missions, they were not yet credible enough to take on a C-Rank. However, far be it from him to turn the Hokage's judgment aside and ask for something more suitable. Pervert he may have been, as well as tardy and lazy, but disloyal and ungrateful he would never be. That day, that fateful day, Kakashi had nodded his consent to the Sandaime as a loyal soldier would do, and the next day, they had begun the mission.

All in all, it had started off well enough. Naruto had, praise the Gods, been quiet and patient even when the client threw insults at him, Sasuke had been his normal, quiet self with the addition of his throwing glares randomly at the client, while Sakura had been the lifesaver and kept the peace between everyone; he swore he saw her shoot a few malicious glares at Tazuna as well, though. Kakashi had begun to think everything was going along fine, and that maybe his suspicions were just that and nothing more…until the Demon Brothers had shown up.

After a superbly impressive display of instinctual fighting on Sasuke's part, and a good amount of hesitation on Naruto's, Kakashi had ended the battle quickly and easily. His suspicions had, unfortunately, been warranted and he had turned his gaze onto the client, asking to speak to him. What he learned next rocked his world and he found himself faced with a horrible understanding of the situation: in a small seaside town on the island of the Land of the Waves, a man named Gatoh had taken control of the every shipping route and effectively cut the island off from the rest of the world. Due to the loss of the trading systems, exports and imports were brought to a halt, and whatever money was left through the small government was quickly embezzled by the greedy businessman. With finding out who was sending the assassins, Kakashi found himself in a tight situation – abandon the mission, or continue while putting his newly attained, cute, little genin at risk?

Even though the mission had been pushed up to a B-Ranked one, he found his genin unyielding in their wish to continue the mission. Of course, what could he do but give consent and continue the journey along with them? It seemed this had been his undoing.

Only seconds later, the horrendous storm had begun, making their trip across the water by boat towards the island hazardous at best. However, it was what happened thirty minutes later that made him feel like the mission was hell on Earth: Momochi Zabuza appeared. Though he had been able to disperse the sudden mist Zabuza had called upon, Kakashi wasn't fast enough to stop Zabuza when the man had raced towards his client, wielding his large sword. That was when he received another shock to his system:

Right before Zabuza had reached the group, a large, glowing ball of blue chakra had appeared in front of him, throwing Zabuza back. To his greater surprise, the chakra slowly dissipated to reveal the young Hyuuga heiress spinning in the air before she did a back flip and landed on the ground behind his genin.

She had fallen after that, her hand clutching her side, and then the rest of Team Eight had appeared, Yuuhi Kurenai included. She had appeared next to him, yelling words of, "Mind asking questions later, Kakashi-san? I assure you, I will explain everything once we take care of Zabuza," through the storm. It had appeared that everything was testing his patience and loyalty at that point. He had nodded, though confused and annoyed, and walked forward with her towards the lake where Zabuza crouched, determined to gather answers later. No sooner had they reached the lake when a young person – male, female, they couldn't tell – appeared next to Zabuza, the mask of a hunter-nin hiding the face.

"Meet my assistant," Zabuza had cowed. "Though he may be young, do not underestimate him, Kakashi," he had continued, glaring at the man before moving his gaze over to Kurenai, "nor you, newbie."

A spike of killing intent had radiated from Kurenai and he saw her resolve tighten. Within a flash, the hunter-nin boy and Zabuza had ran away across the lake, and it was then when Kakashi and Kurenai had bore their weapons and headed out with the full intent to kill the missing-nin and his student.

Now, nearly thirty minutes later, after Naruto and Sasuke had decided to join the battle, Kakashi found himself understanding the high bounty on Zabuza's head, as he was losing chakra at a rate far higher than he was dealing out damage. He had needed to stop using the Sharingan as every time he tried to copy Zabuza's jutsu, or predict the man's intentions, Zabuza's assistant would somehow get past Kurenai and attack him with ice-type jutsu. The silver-haired jounin took in a deep breath, his one midnight-grey eye opening slowly as he stared across the madly turning waters. Kakashi straightened his frame until he stood at full height, his eye still staring over at Zabuza. The latter gave a smirk from beneath his bandages and dashed forward towards Kakashi.

The Konoha Jounin jumped back, bringing his hands up as he flashed through seals and yelled out, "Chidori!" as he clapped his left hand over his right wrist, his right hand glowing as lightning formed a ball in it. Kakashi crouched down slowly on the water as Zabuza approached him before he pushed chakra out from under his feet and raced towards his enemy. He felt another presence come near and yelled out,

"Keep track of your target, Kurenai!"

At the beginning, she had thought she could handle some no-name kid holding a penchant for his death, but as soon as the battle had started, she found she was struggling. Kurenai flipped up a kunai in her right hand as she blocked senbon after senbon, her eyes shifting to and fro as she noticed more and more senbon fly at her. Whipping her long, drenched, black tendrils of hair out of her face, Kurenai ducked under a few more senbon and hit the surface of the water with a roll. Standing up quickly, she held her kunai in front of her, the four-edged, pointed knife glinting through the rain. The boy, Haku, stared at her through his mask as he readied more senbon to throw at her.

Again with the senbon, she thought, annoyed as she went through the task of blocking more and more of the sharp needles. Though she wished to say otherwise, there wasn't much more she could do in her situation – her genjutsu was useless unless she concentrated, and with the storm as it was, there was no chance of that happening anytime soon; in addition, her taijutsu and ninjutsu were nothing short of abominable, and her speed wasn't enough to impress a turtle. Gritting her teeth as she dodged out of the way of another ice-type jutsu, Kurenai glared up at the boy staring at her. "You…" she started, before gasping as he suddenly vanished.

Her ire increased dramatically when the boy was kicked back by Kakashi, for the third time, and she found herself tightening her muscles to the point of pain. Closing her eyes, the genjutsu specialist stood slowly from the water and then opened her eyes slowly, focusing again on her target. Her lips thinned as she swept through seals, focusing her chakra to gather in her legs in feet. Almost surprised she had not been attacked in the entire time of her doing the procedure, Kurenai looked over at Haku again, frowning. He was still looking at her patiently, as if he had all the time in the world.

"You are a jounin?" Haku asked, his voice somehow carrying through the storm. Kurenai narrowed her eyes slightly, shifting to look at the boy fully. "I am," she responded. "What does this matter?"

"A genjutsu specialist, aren't you?"

Reaching for patience she didn't know she still had, Kurenai clutched her kunai in her hand. "Again, I am."

"You," he continued, adapting a fighting stance, "are weak. I will waste no more time with you – prepare to die."

Kurenai's eyes widened as the boy suddenly sped towards her, and just as she was about to be pierced through her chest with a senbon, the sound of a thousand birds calling out made its way to her ears. She didn't bother to look over upon hearing the sound, though she was stunned when Haku suddenly stopped in the middle of his attack and turned to look at Kakashi and Zabuza's fight. He looked at Kurenai, gave her a nod, and sped off towards the other battle. Unsure of whether she was lucky, or just too weak to bother completely with, she took in a deep breath and raced over to where Kakashi was fighting. She pushed herself off the surface of the water hard, her eyes zeroed in on where Kakashi was racing towards Zabuza with an empowered Chidori. As Haku neared Kakashi for a fourth time, Kurenai jumped forward on the water, and pushed her chakra under her feet to raise her soaring high into the sky. Taking out another kunai, she swirled each one in her hands, the edges cutting through the wind with small whispers. When Kakashi kicked back Haku for what would seemingly be the last time, yelling, "Keep track of your target, Kurenai!" she was ready.

"Your battle," she yelled out, soaring down to where she mentally calculated Haku would land at, "is with me!"

Haku, his mask unable to reveal his widening eyes, looked up to see Kurenai plunge down on him, her kunai digging into his arms. Growling out his pain, Haku detached himself from the woman, and did a backwards spin, his right leg thrown out to hit her across her chest. The kick threw Kurenai flying into a backwards, midair somersault, leaving her to make an unsteady landing while holding a hand to her chest as she breathed in and out slowly. She straightened stiffly when she felt someone bump into her, but relaxed slightly when she found out it was Kakashi right beside her. The man moved his head towards her, though his eye was still carefully trained on Zabuza.

"I've lost too many chances to strike because of your incapability, Kurenai. Why haven't you handled that kid yet?" he whispered to her harshly.

"I'm a genjutsu specialist, and my attacks require concentration," she shot back, red eyes glowing with affronted anger. "I can't concentrate even a second with this kid, even if only to just knock him unconscious. Let's switch opponents – I can definitely do something against a slow attacker like Zabuza. You take the kid – your Chidori should be able to do something. Your speed and technique outmatch his."

"Whatever," Kakashi murmured, lifting his head slightly. "I'll kill the kid. Take care of Zabuza."

"Yes, sir," Kurenai muttered out sarcastically, racing around Kakashi to head towards Zabuza. Kakashi watched her go and offhandedly raised a kunai to bat away several senbon. Turning to look at Haku, he frowned, saying, "You're really beginning to annoy me, kid. Let's end this quickly, okay?"

Haku shifted back slightly, but then readied more senbon and sent them flying at Kakashi. Kakashi chuckled before batting away the other senbon, and racing towards Haku. Surprised at the man's speed, Haku stood unmoving as Kakashi came within a few feet of him. The boy's eyes shifted to see a whitish-blue chakra gather in the man's right hand, crackling like bolts of lightning. Quick, was the last thought running through Haku's mind as he barely shifted his center of balance. Kakashi ran his Chidori through the boy's chest, letting out a small sound of annoyance when he saw the boy had moved enough to keep the blow from being instantly fatal. Haku felt pain race through chest, the small lightning bolts hitting his skin and feeling like strips of fire. The jounin pulled his fist out, watching as the boy fell backwards slowly and sank into the water.

"Kurenai couldn't even beat this little boy…" he murmured, crouching to wash his bloody hand in the water. "Was it really a good thing to give her that jounin rank so early?"

He raised his eyes to look across the water, frowning when he saw Sasuke fall down into the water, clones of Zabuza and Haku standing around him. Wait a minute, Haku clones? Kakashi narrowed his right eye at the aforementioned clones, thoughts racing through his head. "Those should have dissipated, so why are they still there?"

In the violent rain and wind, a small splash of water seemed out of place and immediately alerted the man to someone behind him, and he turned quickly to see a bloodied Haku staring at him, the face mask gone. "You!" exclaimed Kakashi, surprised as he jumped back away from the living corpse. "How can you still be standing?"

Kakashi noticed the early stage of Haku's healing skin and his eyes narrowed quickly. Did he heal himself somehow?

"I will…" said the boy, his voice barely a whisper in the storm, "be of use to Zabuza-sama. You will not stop me, Sharingan Kakashi-san."

As soon as Kakashi pulled out his kunai again, he saw Haku turning around and running the other way, towards Kurenai and Zabuza. Surprised again, Kakashi sped forward, leaping to grab a hold of Haku's ankle. Haku kicked back Kakashi's hand, his eyes glittering dangerously. "Don't hinder me!"

"Just give up already!" shouted Kakashi in return, reaching again. Haku spun around, slamming three senbon into Kakashi's right shoulder. "Do not hinder me!"

"Ah!" yelled the jounin, losing his grip on the boy and hitting the water. He glared up at Haku, who turned tail and ran. "Damn it," he muttered, knowing he would never be able to catch up in time. Raising his voice, Kakashi shouted: "Kurenai! Watch out for Haku!"

As soon as Kurenai had switched opponents, she knew it had probably been their best idea and had turned the tides in their favor. She smiled softly, blood-red eyes gleaming as she again dodged another swipe of Zabuza's large blade. Kurenai formed a cross seal and three clones appeared, the third taking her place as she dematerialized and appeared in a nearby tree. Zabuza raced towards the clones, intent on finding the real one quickly.

"I'll make this quick," she whispered, "Magen: Jubaku Satsu!"

As she gathered behind the unknowing Zabuza, rising with her kunai to strike his neck with a quick slash, Kurenai gasped when the man fell apart into a wave of water in front of her. Staring at the now empty space in front of her, she was surprised to hear,

"Thanks for making that quick, woman. Now, let me make this one quick!"

Kurenai turned slightly to see Zabuza pull back his Kubikiri Houchou sword in a wide arc, his black eyes glaring straight into her own blood-red ones. Making a dire mistake, she made a small noise of disbelief and hesitated, her mind having blanked completely. Zabuza lifted a leg and threw his foot straight out at her, allowing it to sink into her solar plexus and send her zooming across the raging lake. Her breath hitched as her eyes widened while she flew through the air. She didn't notice Haku run around her and it was only after she became slightly aware of her surrounding that she felt two more kicks into her stomach. Pain clouded her mind and she barely felt herself ram into something that felt like a wall before it gave way, sending her and it skidding across the surface of the water, and eventually sinking.

Kakashi grunted, air bubbles rising from his mouth and racing to the water's surface from where he floated, Kurenai wincing beside him. Pulling on her flak jacket, he helped her to the surface, breaking through and searching around him for the targets. Kurenai coughed violently, but managed to stay afloat on her own. Kakashi pushed himself onto the surface, his grasping at what little chakra he had left. Zabuza grinned maliciously at the two jounin, directing Haku to watch over them.

"Sorry kiddies," he said darkly, chuckling all the while. "I've got a bridge builder to take care of!"

Kurenai forced her eyes open as she pushed herself onto the water's surface, still coughing as violently as before. "No, Zabuza," she wheezed out hoarsely. "I can't let you… Kakashi and I won't let you get that far."

Zabuza looked over at Haku, making a single gesture, and saying, "Keep those two occupied. Do your duty to me."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," came the expected reply. Haku's eyes shifted to look at the two Konoha jounin, their black depths like dark arctic plains. His shoulders straightened as he took on an offensive posture, and before the two jounin could react, he was behind them. He reached forward under Kurenai's arms and gripped her tightly.

Kurenai stumbled slightly in Haku's grip as Zabuza turned to face the lake's edge. "No, Zabuza, you can't! Please, you can't do this!"

She watched in horror as the man sped forward, and struggled when Haku held her back in a tight grip. "Let me go, damn it! Let me go! Zabuza!"

"Kurenai," whispered Kakashi from where he sat on the lake, breathing in and out shakily. His energy supply was now close to nil. "Kurenai…"

As a last effort as she watched the nuke-nin race away, she screamed,

"No, Zabuza, don't!"

Naruto heard the cry and turned around slowly as Zabuza raced past him, the wind knocking him back to the ground as he stared. He groaned as he pushed himself up, shouting,

"Shino! Execute maneuver Alpha Beta Phi!"

Shino, surprised but efficient to a fault, moved in front of the oncoming Zabuza, holding his kunai in front of him as bugs began to filter from his body. Zabuza took no notice of him as he did a feint to the right, large sword raised high. Kiba and Naruto stared over at Shino as he moved to his left and threw a kunai at Zabuza, which was easily deflected. The man, however, had not counted on a hoard of Kikaichuu insects racing towards him and latching on. Surprised, and more than a little confused, Zabuza hurriedly moved to brush off the bugs, crushing some between his fingers. Shino's eyes narrowed behind his round sunglasses, and he readied a second kunai, maintaining his position in front of Tazuna and Mikishi. Zabuza, completely distracted from dealing with the Kikaichuu bugs, didn't notice an illusionary clone of Shino come upon him until the clone was within a few inches of him. As the man reached to raise his sword to cut the clone through, he grunted when he found he could barely lift the large sword. His confusion and frustration were apparent as he yelled out,

"What the hell!"

By this time, Kiba, Akamaru, and even Naruto had managed to reach Zabuza and Shino, with the former two jumping up and doing a diving kick at Zabuza's head. Naruto followed up with a hard crescent moon kick, before he ducked down and slid his leg in a wide arc over the mud, causing Zabuza to fall hard. Shino raised his hands towards his Kikaichuu bugs, his commands silent and calm, and the bugs returned to him without further question. Naruto, now nearly depleted of chakra, charged around Zabuza; he picked the man up by the shirt, the latter still surprised by the amount of resistance he was facing, but quickly gaining his wits back.

"Naruto!" came a shout, and the blond moved his eyes to glance over at a slowly rising Sakura, her leaf-green eyes piercing. She slowly raised her right fist, blue chakra shimmering all around it, and Naruto nodded slightly. He summoned one last clone, and with its help, kicked Zabuza into the air. The nearly chakra-depleted Zabuza glared down at the blond, though his movements were too slow to stop the next attack: Naruto jumped back some distance, turned around to face the opposite direction, and began doing successive hand springs towards the man as the latter fell towards the ground. As soon as he reached a suitable speed, Naruto pushed off his hands hard and his feet flew through the air to connect with Zabuza's anterior. The hard kick sent the man flying towards where Sakura waited patiently, her fist drawn back tightly. She took a step forward and slammed her chakra-invested fist into the back of Zabuza, her eyes narrowed and glowing brightly as she pushed forward with all her might.

She heard a loud crack as her fist sank in deeply, and Zabuza's hoarse yell of pain rang throughout the area. As soon as Naruto was about to race forward for one last hit, he was tackled aside by the young man named Haku. The blond hit the ground hard on his right shoulder, grunting slightly as he rolled onto his stomach. Kiba and Shino called out his name, each fearing the worst. Sakura looked first from Naruto to Haku readying another battle stance. Haku shook his head from where he held Zabuza's arm over his shoulder. "You've won this battle, Konoha. However, don't for one second believe this is over."

He turned to move away, but hesitated, whispering softly, "For what it's worth, I'm sorry this had to happen," before vanishing.

Sakura lowered her fists, her breath coming in and out shakily, and she noticed Hinata and Sasuke looking at the battle site, with the former looking exhausted and the latter breathing in and out sporadically. Sinking to her knees, she realized she couldn't move at all, and her eyes were wide with disbelief. The other two looked at her silently, but each and every one of them, including Shino and Kiba, stared over at where a shaking Naruto was. The blond, cradling his right shoulder, pushed himself to his knees, but could rise no further than that. He turned his gaze to look over at Sakura and Sasuke, his cornflower-blue eyes saddened and dull. "Too…strong," he muttered softly to himself.

Each genin, along with Tazuna and Mikishi, glanced over at the lake's edge as Kakashi and Kurenai walked slowly onto land. Naruto gritted his teeth as he stared over at the two jounin, but found his chakra had finally depleted itself. He, along with Sakura, slipped down to the ground, seemingly unconscious. Kurenai fell out of Kakashi's grip and hit the mud, the rain pouring down on her face as she fell into unconsciousness as well. The last remaining jounin sighed, picking the other jounin up and setting her on his back, carrying her that way. Walking slowly towards Tazuna, he asked with some hesitance, "Do you have someplace we can rest, by chance?"

Tazuna stared first at Kakashi, then Mikishi, and then back at Kakashi. "Yes, of course. I've a place. Just…follow me."

Shino and Kiba moved to carry Naruto, while an exhausted Sasuke and Hinata moved to help with Sakura. All the ninjas followed the two civilians to their rest spot.

The first thing he saw was a mass number of pipes running down the length of the long corridor he was in. The dim, yellow light cast a shadow on his face and he stared over towards his right, seeing a never-ending passageway. He looked forward and to his left, but was given no indication as to where his furry friend was. Shrugging, he moved forward at a slight jog, taking note that his exhaustion from before was completely nonexistent. Seeing the large cage, Naruto grinned slightly, and slid to a halt in a massive puddle of water right in front of it. He noticed that, like his last trip to visit the Kyuubi, the cage was now twice as big – enough to house the future and present Kyuubi – as well as being adorned with a far smaller cage where his present personality existed. Two blue eyes popped open to look at Naruto from the other side of the smaller cage, and a young, twelve-year-old version of him came to grasp the bars of the cage. Naruto grimaced when he saw his past self wearing the orange abomination he had worn up until he'd been almost fourteen. Was this one as loud as he had been in the past?

The younger Naruto opened his mouth and shouted, "Hey! You look just like me, except you're older looking! Let me out! Let me out! I don't like those things next to me! What are they? Let me out!"

Naruto clapped his hands over his ears, eyes wide as he stared incredulously over at the younger blond. Frowning at the older comment, and muttering, "Yeah, he's just as loud," he looked down at himself. Noticing that he was wearing the exact same clothing he'd worn before he, Hinata, Sasuke, and Sakura had gone to fight the final battle with Pein, he also noticed he was the same age as then as well. "Hell yes," he murmured. "I look totally kick-ass again! Rock on."

He glanced up at his younger self, readying himself to say something, when a foul-looking chakra began to seep out from underneath the nearest part of the larger cage. Frowning at the chakra, he moved forward, ignoring the midget constantly shouting for him. Walking straight through the red chakra, he paused five feet away, eyes narrowed.

"Kyuubi. Which one?"

A bright, red eye popped open to look down at Naruto, with large, white teeth appearing a second later. "Who else, brat," came the deep voice full of malice. "You've done quite a number on your body, and thanks to you, your look-alike woke up. Mind taking care of him before he wakes up?"

Naruto looked at his past self, and began cracking his knuckles. "I'll just kill him and steal the chakra. Kind of need it, anyway. Not like I need him around to save the future, and his chakra would be pretty handy to have around. Hey, maybe I'll be able to kill off Orochimaru from the very start with that much; what do you think?"

The twelve-year-old Naruto looked petrified at the thought, but was saved when Kyuubi shouted, "No, you fool!"

Both blonds, taken aback, stared up at the future Kyuubi. Naruto tilted his head slightly, a frown on his face. "What's up? I can't use your chakra – his works just as well."

"An idiot like always," came the angry reply. "He's connected to the others, you fool! One break in the link, and he'll wake up!"

"Gee, you sound scared."

"No fool willingly approaches death as you do, Naruto. Now listen, boy, I have explicit plans for you to follow in the future. From now on, you must make certain those other three buffoons you call friends know of the circumstances. It's too dangerous for them not to understand the problems underlying chakra deprivation."

"Are you serious?" yelled at Naruto. "If they find out that I kept such a thing a secret from them, I'll die! Then you'll die! Then we'll all die! Aside of that, I thought secrecy was best in this instance!"

"Well, it was," began the Kyuubi, baring his teeth, "until you unlocked everyone's persona from a semi-permanent slumber. Now, they all have the ability to awaken when your friends become deprived of chakra. You understand, boy?"

"Shit, so that white light?"

"Think about it. Now shut that brat up, and leave me! I have to make sure he stays asleep."

Naruto watched as the red chakra abated and turned to go look at his past self locked away in a cage. The younger Naruto looked up and backed away slightly, eyes full of wary trepidation, and the older Naruto sighed slightly. "Look…Naruto. I can't kill you, but I also can't let you out – since I don't know how. In any case, I may need you to be inside there in the future. In fact…I have an idea for you to work on – a training regime, so to speak."

As soon as the younger Naruto heard the word "training", his whole demeanor changed. The young boy looked at Naruto eagerly, eyes shining as he thought of a new way to get stronger. "Right now," continued Naruto, "we are in your body – that much you know. However, I came from the future so that I could save your future. I don't want people dying like they did in my time, so, to make sure they don't, I need your help. Chakra is really hard to come by, and I need to make sure I have an ample supply. So, what I want you to do is this…"

Naruto's eyes flashed open, before he groaned from the bright sunlight streaming in through a nearby window. He moved his right hand to shield his eyes before pain sped down his arm from his shoulder. "Ah!" he gasped, hurriedly grabbing his right shoulder with his left hand as he turned to lay on his right side. Naruto winced as he squinted his eyes, trying to gather his bearings. Across the room, he saw Kakashi lying down on a futon, reading his Icha, Icha Paradise book. Kakashi, upon hearing the gasp of pain, had turned to look at the young blond. His expression was veiled as he said, "Awake now, are you?"

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto murmured. He pushed himself up to a sitting position, eyes downcast. "Are you okay? I mean, your Sharingan…are you doing all right?"

The silver-haired man shrugged. "I won't be running around anytime soon, if that's what you mean."

"Oh…what about everyone else? Are they okay?"

"You see anyone else in here with us? Obviously, they must be, or else they'd be here, don't you think?"

Naruto was saved from having to comment when the door to the large room opened. Sasuke stuck his head in, frowning when he saw Naruto glaring at Kakashi, and the latter just reading his book. Stepping inside, he glanced from the blond to the jounin and back again, unsure of what had angered his best friend this time. Choosing to ignore their little tiff, he walked up to Naruto, placing his hands in his pockets.

"Hey," he called out softly. "You feeling better? Up to telling Kakashi, Shino, and Kiba about our little secret?"

At this, Kakashi turned his gaze over to look at Sasuke, his book long forgotten. Naruto grimaced slightly before sighing. "Yeah. I guess. May as well call those guys in. Ah, and hey, how long has it been since the battle?"

"Huh?" Sasuke said, having already gotten up and walked towards the door. "Oh. About two days, I guess? I'll be back in a sec, just have to get the others. They've been practicing outside since this morning."

Naruto stared at Sasuke's retreating form, eyes wide with disbelief. He had been asleep for that long? Looking over at Kakashi, but seeing the man had started in on his book again, the vessel sighed. Rubbing his shoulder slightly, he winced slightly, but looked up when he saw the genin and Kurenai traipse in. Upon seeing him awake, Sakura immediately went towards him, hands already glowing green with her chakra as she performed a medical analysis. Kurenai frowned at the blond, but said nothing. She was surprised though, when Tazuna's grandson Inari came into the room, his expression murderous. Oddly enough, the first person he set sights on was Naruto, who he zoomed in on immediately. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Naruto looked up at the kid, frowning.

"You!" shouted Inari, his tiny frame shaking. "Go home! You can't prove anything, and you're just ruining our lives more by staying here! Go away!"

Naruto stared at the boy for a few seconds before making a sound of disbelief. "Yeah, whatever, kid. We'll be out of here as soon as Gato's gone. Cool?"

Inari's face reddened slightly, and he yelled out louder, "You're just going to die!"

Annoyed, the blond glared at him before glancing over at Sakura. "Are you going to let me die?"

The rosette frowned at him, wondering why he included her into the conversation. "Of course not."

Looking back at Inari, Naruto said, "Hear that? I'm not dying. Go away, and leave me to my pain in peace."

On the verge of tears, the young black-haired boy kicked Naruto's right shoulder hard, causing the blond to cry out slightly. Naruto muttered obscenities as Inari ran out of the room and down the hall. Hinata and Sakura both immediately moved to look at Naruto's shoulder as Kiba and Sasuke glared at the kid as he left. Sakura touched Naruto's shoulder, but he grasped her wrist with his left hand, still gritting his teeth from the earlier pain. "I'm fine," he muttered. "Just…hold on."

Standing up and ignoring the protests of the two kunoichi, he walked over to a wall and pressed his right hand against it. Naruto gripped his right shoulder with his left hand and pushed hard against the wall, causing a loud, sucking 'pop' to echo through the room. Kiba looked sickened, Hinata looked irritable, and Sakura looked pissed. As Naruto was sighing and feeling slightly better, he yelled out when Sakura's fist slammed into the back of his head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"You idiot! What, you think you're macho or something? Leave the physical maims of the body to us!" shouted the rosette. "We're not medical-nin for nothing, you know!"

"But…" whined Naruto. "Ow, that hurt…"

"Suck it up!"

"But, Sakura-chan…"

Kakashi, fed up with their bickering, said, "Am I going to hear the reason as to why things went the way they did in that battle? Or am I just going to hear you two bicker like a married couple? I want to know why Kurenai and her team were waiting at the battle site, and I want to know why all of you seem so advanced for simple genin." Kakashi turned around to look at Sakura, his right eye targeted on her. "And, how could you possibly be a medic-nin at so young an age? With such a low stamina report?"

Team Seven along with Kurenai and Hinata gaped at the other jounin, uncertain of what to say. "Well," started Sasuke, closing the door and holding up a one-handed Ram seal. A burst of chakra went through the room, and he sighed. "That's a long story. But, since you've got nothing else to do, I suppose we can impart upon you our amazing secret."

Kakashi's right eye twitched a little at Sasuke's words, but he forced himself to relax. Nodding slowly, he said, "Hurry up then."

"Aye-aye sir," said Sasuke sarcastically. "Let's see – it all began with the Kyuubi…"

With that, Sasuke spent the next three hours walking Kakashi, Kiba, and Shino through their miraculous trip through time and experiences before Naruto had left with Jiraiya on the training journey, with Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura interjecting their own comments in at times. Afterwards, Sasuke nestled his head against Hinata's bosom, much to her embarrassment, and stayed there. Naruto looked at Hinata, amusement dancing in his eyes, and she frowned at him slightly, her cheeks tinted pink. He turned back to look at Kakashi, and frowned when he saw the man's cold right eye stare at him.

"You expect me to believe that far-fetched story? Where's the proof?"

"The proof," said Kurenai, resting her head against a wall, "is all around you. They told me about all of this a few days ago, before the mission had begun. Had they been lying, we would not be here as we speak. They're the ones who told me where to position my team, and they're the ones who told us when to interfere. In addition," continued the genjutsu mistress, her eyes closed, "can you really refute what you've been told? Take a look at Naruto at the very least, Kakashi. When is there ever a day he doesn't wear that hideous orange thing? Then look at him and Sakura. Since when have they liked each other? And Sasuke and Hinata? When was that even a possibility? Don't refute their experiences on account of your unwillingness to believe what you can't see possible."

Kakashi peered over at her, eye narrowed. "Since when have you been so relaxed about such a situation? Who's to say they're not acting?"

Kurenai let out a sound of irritation, but never opened her eyes. "An Uchiha is laying his head on a Hyuuga heiress's chest. A young girl is hanging out with what is esteemed to be the demon of the village. Wrap your head around those. As if it were possible for those things to happen in a few weeks."

Kakashi frowned, but realized the young woman was correct in what she said. He turned to look at Kiba and Shino, the former of which who was staring hard at Naruto. Naruto frowned at Kiba, an eyebrow raised. "What's your defocus?"

Kiba lifted a finger and pointed it at Naruto, trembling as he said, "You…you have the Kyuubi in you!"

"Ah, yeah. Forgot you didn't know that. Well, so? Going to kill me?"

Shino shook his head slightly, and pushed his glasses up with a few fingers. "Not at all, Naruto. Though it was surprising to hear, I bear you no misgivings, and understand your predicament. As a fellow shinobi, I will offer my assistance when necessary."

Naruto grinned, his eyes lighting up. "Awesome! Can always count on an Aburame for loyalty!" he exclaimed, completely giddy that the boy had accepted him. Turning to look at Kiba, he said, "So, what are you going to do then?"

Kiba stiffened slightly, but mustered a smirk while Akamaru barked excitedly. "Hell," said Kiba, eyes showing determination. "Like I give a damn. I'll still kick your ass around like a ping-pong ball, Kyuubi or no!"

"Hah! As if! I have experience!"

"Experience don't mean shit if you're always destined to suck!"

Naruto grimaced at Kiba's words, muttering, "Now you sound like Neji…"

"Who?" asked Kiba, looking confused. "Someone else from that weird future of yours?"

"Ah, no one, no one," the blond stated matter-of-factly. "Well, okay," he said, grinning as he pushed himself off the ground. "So, now that that's all over, let's go train! I'm feeling really pumped!"

Kakashi allowed himself a few chuckles as he pushed himself up, not feeling as weak as he could. Everyone else stood as well, and Naruto led them out of the room, down the stairs past a surprised Tsunami, and out the door towards a large grassy with trees everywhere. Throwing his arms out wide, Naruto took in a deep breath, and let it out in one fell swoop. Turning around, he asked, "So, what all you guys been working on?"

Hinata and Sakura looked at each other before frowning at Sasuke and Naruto. The latter two blinked and looked at one another. After a few seconds, they glanced back at the girls in confusion. Sakura walked up to Naruto and shoved him back, saying, "We're teaching Shino and Kiba how to climb trees. You just woke up – don't act as if you're ready to take on the world just yet."

Hinata lightly pushed Sasuke back, her eyes kind. "However, if you would like to help us out, could you go gather some herbs, please? We'll need to make some healing salves for the upcoming battles, if there are any."

The boys stared at the two kunoichi, each ready to argue on their behalves. Sakura gave them both a deadly glare, and the two backed off, waving as they ran to go gather herbs from the forest. Hinata chuckled slightly as she looked at Sakura, and the latter let out a few giggles as well. The two turned around and walked over to where the other two genin waited for them.

"Okay," began Sakura, clapping her hands. "Let's get started."

Naruto pushed his hands into his pockets, frowning as he walked through the forest with Sasuke. The latter was none-the-better as he, too, walked with his hands in his pockets, a scowl on his face. The two looked at each other before quickly turning away, each baring an annoyed expression. Naruto suddenly thought of something, and turned to look at his friend.

"Hey, what do herbs look like, anyway?"

Sasuke frowned at him, but narrowed his eyes when he found himself unable to answer. "Let's just….let's just choose random plants. Chances are we'll come across some that way."

"I bet the girls will just end up hitting me in the end…"

"Better you than me."

Naruto turned to glare at the other boy before his face took on an indiscernible expression, his nose turned up as he sniffed the air. Sasuke frowned at him, watching Naruto's eyes widen as he hacked and coughed. Wondering what was going on, he found his answer when a horribly putrid smell came in through his nose. Slapping a hand over his nose, Sasuke felt himself want to throw up and his eyes widened. The two boys looked for the source of the horrible smell, and found a dark figure nearly hidden by the shadows a good distance away from them. Naruto turned to him, silently asking whether they should proceed or not. Though unwilling, Sasuke strode forward, the blond on his heels.

The boys took in a deep breath as they gasped upon seeing the young boy named Haku, walking around a dead body with dull, lifeless eyes. A few seconds later, the two boys starting hacking after taking such a gulp of putrid air. Naruto stared at Haku, and looked down at the body, taking a step back when he identified it.

"Zabuza!" he gasped out, and Sasuke quickly turned to stare at the body. The Uchiha reeled back, and stared at Haku. "Haku," he whispered, but ended up not catching the other young man's attention. "Haku!" he said in a louder voice, and this time, ended up succeeded in capturing the other's attention.

Haku turned to look at them, his black eyes unfocused and unseeing. Naruto stared from him to Zabuza's body, and back again. "Hey, Haku, what happened to Zabuza?"

The young man opened his mouth and managed to say a few words.

Naruto and Sasuke's eyes widened unbelievably at Haku's words, each wondering what was going to happen in the future now.

Sakura slammed a fist into Kiba's head, yelling, "No, you idiot! Stop applying so much chakra! Geez, you could fuel an entire civilization with all that chakra you're putting out! Tone it down, and try again!"

Kiba muttered angrily as he rubbed his head, frowning as he said, "Naruto can have you. Flat-chested bitch."

Hinata and Shino glanced over at Sakura as the rosette's killer intent began to spike further. "What the hell did you just call me, you flea-bitten mongrel?" asked Sakura tersely. Kiba backed away from her as Sakura closed in on him, her eyes narrowed dangerously. She raised her fist high, about to slam it into the boy a second time when she heard shouts of her name over and over.

Turning to see who was shouting, she frowned when she saw Naruto running hurriedly over to the group. Kakashi and Kurenai stopped their own spar and turned to look at the blond, the former saying, "What's the problem, Naruto?"

Naruto ran up near Shino and Hinata, breathing in and out quickly. Looking up, the others saw his frightened and troubled expression. Gulping for breath, he calmed himself down quickly, and looked at Sakura when he said,

"We've got a problem."

Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Technique
Ninpou: Kirigakure no Jutsu – Ninja Arts: Hidden Mist Technique
Chuuzuri Hakkeshou Kaiten – Midair Eight Trigrams Palms Heavenly Spin
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – Water Clone Technique
Rasengan – Spiraling Sphere
Chidori – One Thousand Birds
Magen: Jubaku Satsu – Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death

First Completion: 4/30/2008 11:20:32 PM

Hope you enjoyed the story. Come back soon for the next installment!