To Team Seven

by Serenarey Chiba

For Sasuke, Sakura, Hinata, and Naruto, going back in time wasn't their plan. Their enemies are stronger than they could ever remember. And what of the Gods deeming time travel a sin? The strength of bonds is stronger than they'd ever realize. NaruSaku

6. Chapter 6

All right. My apologies for the amazingly long wait. I lost my enthusiasm for my story somewhere after 5k, and couldn't get it back until a month ago, or so. I decided to do a double edition. This is a little over 15k, according to FFN, so I hope that's allowable. Please do enjoy this chapter.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.

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Previously on TT7:

The fight against Zabuza has finally ended. In the midst of a simple herb-gathering task, Sasuke and Naruto came upon surprising news - something that would greatly change their plans.

---

Chapter Six

As the sun proceeded to set, colors of all spectrums of the rainbow dyed the sky, and the latent humidity formed slight puffs of fog around the quiet village in the Land of the Waves. The low-altitude clouds billowed out through the village, seeping in between houses and settling in like a fungus. Naruto looked out from the window in the designated room given to them by Tazuna, eyes darkened and cloudy as he looked through the mist. He shifted his position so that his left shoulder was leaning against the window frame, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Zabuza is dead," he murmured softly, narrowing his eyes slightly. He pushed off from the frame forcefully, instead shifting his eyes to look around the empty, darkened room. Running a hand through his blond locks, Naruto chuckled softly, before it escalated into full-blown laughter. An image of Haku's painful face as he cried over the loss of his fatherly figure flashed through Naruto's mind, and the blond rose a hand to cover his face, his laughter fading into soft sobs. "Zabuza is dead," he choked out, tears streaming down his cheeks, "and Haku is left alone. And I…I helped kill him. I killed them both."

A thread of light crept through the room before reaching Naruto, and he looked up quickly, hiccupping through his sobs. His eyes widened slightly before he turned away and walked towards a darker part of the room. The figure who had opened the door closed it behind him or herself, and walked over to the blond. Naruto glanced at the person quickly, still hiccupping. "It wasn't mean to happen like that," he managed out between his slight chest convulsions. "He was supposed to live. Haku was supposed to be happy. I was going to have them both come to Konoha with us."

The boy was then surprised when the figure engulfed him in a hug, though he didn't bother to fight it. "Hinata," he whispered, clutching her tightly against him, greedy for the comfort she was giving. "What have I done?"

Ignoring his question, she ended the embrace, eyes gentile and filled with warmth. "Whatever happened, happened because of us all. Now, come; you've been in this room ever since you and Sasuke told us about Zabuza, and that's been hours. I understand you're upset – we all are, but we must push past it. We must persevere, for the future, and for the sake of our homeland."

"It never gets any easier," whispered Naruto, much to Hinata's confusion. She frowned at him, unable to understand where his comment originated from. He forced a grin to his tear-streaked face. "Those years on ANBU, all those people who died for stupid reasons, all those friends and people I could have made friends with… I remember them all, and how they died. I remember their jokes, their laughter, their dreams, their families… I can't get them out of my mind! I act all happy and everything…but…"

Hinata felt pain race across her chest, though she quickly masked her pain as her right hand reached to clutch at her jacket. Her attention momentarily drifted from Naruto as the pain seared through her, causing her to wince slightly. What was that? she wondered. That pain came out of nowhere. I wasn't hit at my chest at any point of the last battle…where did that pain come from?

"Hinata?"

Naruto's voice snapped the Hyuuga out of her reverie, and she shook her head. "Ah," she began, forcing a smile to her lips. "For now, Naruto," she began, "try not to remember everything so much."

The words sounded lame and unresponsive, even to her, and she felt herself grimace slightly. "Look, Naruto, everyone is waiting for us. We should go eat dinner before they become even more worried. All right?"

Naruto stared at her for a few moments before a true smile crossed his face. "I feel like shit, and guilty as hell, but you know exactly what to say to make me feel a lot better. I remember Tsunami always made the best food. I'm starved."

Hinata mustered a shaky grin as Naruto walked away, his posture more relaxed as he walked. Suddenly, he stopped and glanced back at her, still smiling. "Hey, Hinata?"

She frowned gently, concern etched into her features. "Yes, what is it, Naruto?"

"You always help me so much," he said happily. "You're my best friend, and a great person and kunoichi! See you down at dinner!"

He waved to her as he opened the door and left the room, leaving her to her lonesome. Hinata's right hand shook from where it clenched at her jacket, and she breathed in and out deeply. Pain cut through her chest at Naruto's last words, and she tightened her hold on her jacket. Within a couple of minutes, the pain passed and she stood up slowly from where she had involuntarily fallen. Thinking about the pain versus Naruto's words, she found herself growing slightly irritable.

I don't even want to know, she thought to herself as she, too, walked out of the room.

As she reached the lower level of the house and walked into the main living area, Kiba spared her an enthusiastic greeting, before hurrying to eat the remainder of his rice. She granted him a small smile before taking her seat next to Sasuke and Sakura. She smiled again at Sasuke before turning her gaze slightly to look over at Naruto, who was currently gulping down bite after bite of his dinner. Nodding slightly, she came to the understanding that Naruto was feeling better, in all honesty. Hinata had been a bit concerned that he had been hiding his emotions from her, again, and was grateful that everything appeared all right, in general.

Looking back down at her food, which had grown slightly cold from her time upstairs with Naruto, Hinata realized she wasn't as hungry as she had originally been earlier. She ended up staring down at it, her chopsticks wavering in her slightly shaking hand. Sasuke frowned at her before moving his gaze to look at her trembling, right hand. Nudging her gently with his elbow, he saw her come falling back to reality and glance back at him.

"Eat," he commanded softly, taking a bite of his fish. Hinata looked at him, frowning, before she felt a nudge come from her other side. Irritation ran through her again as she turned her attention to her right where Sakura was giving her a look. Unfortunately, it was a look that had always perturbed Hinata greatly, as it was the one Sakura gave to every single one of her patients when she wanted them to do something. It was also a look that could not be ignored as it seemed to burn into one's mind and stay within his or her awareness.

"Ah," the Hyuuga fumbled, causing both Sakura and Sasuke to glare deeply at her. Naruto looked over at the commotion, his cheeks round and full with food. His words were dripping with annoyance as he said, "Best not to waste this wonderful food that the wonderful Tsunami cooked for our wonderful services concerning her wonderful father, despite the fact a wonderful bastard named Gatoh has wonderfully limited their capacity for wonderful, wonderful food."

All the people at the table ended up giving him a strange look at that, though Hinata had grasped his warning clear as a bell. However, that had not made it any less annoying to hear the word "wonderful" stated in a sentence eight times. Her right eye twitched as she looked over at the still eating Kyuubi vessel, unsure of what to say after such a sentence.

Inari, who had watched the entire exchange, felt his anger begin to mount. He slammed his small hands on the table, gathering everyone's attention. He glared first at Hinata, before going to back to glaring at Naruto, and then back to Hinata once again. "You!" he exclaimed, pointing at the heiress, much to her surprise and confusion. She raised an eyebrow in counter.

"Yes?"

"You think you're so cool and amazing that you can just ignore the food my mother made for you? What, suddenly you're too good to eat what us poor people eat?"

At that comment, Hinata stiffened, her face paling slightly as anger begin to furl within her. Tsunami stared at her son before noticing the offended expression Hinata bore upon her face. "That's enough, Inari! Apologize this instant!"

Inari ignored his mother, preferring instead to keep attacking the foreigners. "I know what people like you are like! Think you're so great – you probably have this huge house where there are servants and you have this amazingly huge family that treats you like you're a queen!"

"Inari, stop it," yelled Tsunami, making efforts to rise from where she sat at the table. Hinata's cold voice stopped her, however:

"No," Hinata called out softly. "Let him continue."

Inari hesitated slightly, glancing over at the two jounin before glaring back at Hinata. "People like you have never suffered! Your dad probably calls you his sweet princess and your mom probably makes you cookies and cakes all the time! Well, we don't have that kind of privilege here! If you couldn't tell, most of us are starving, and you have the nerve to ignore our food? What, think it's going to poison you, Princess?"

Silence passed through the house, and though Naruto found Inari to be far more of a brat this time around than before, he continued to eat his food. The soft spike of chakra forced him to turn his attention over to Hinata however. The young woman raised her cold, lavender eyes to look at the young nine-year-old boy.

"Allow me to make this clear," she said softly, her gaze steely and her tone frosty. "I do not, first of all, see how hesitating to eat food, no matter where it comes from, makes me some spoiled, rich girl. Second of all, and most important of all, you will never itemize me again, are we clear?" she shouted at the end, her knuckles white from being clenched so tightly. Inari watched with slight fear as she stood up, an expression of torment battling lividness on her face.

"Who are you to claim anything about me, boy?" she spat out. Memories of her family dying and screaming for her assistance raced through her mind, and she gritted her teeth. More memories of her father blatantly ignoring her and of her mother on her deathbed gripped her, causing her to begin to tremble. Not even Sasuke's hand on her shoulder could help her, nor Sakura's.

"You don't know jack shit about me, you brat! And I will not stand here and allow you to sort me into some room in your mentality so you know how to react and discard me as a nuisance. You have had troubled times, but who hasn't? Have you watched your entire family die without you being able to do a single thing? Even though you may have had a chance to prevent it?"

Two drops of tears slid from her eyes as she glared down at the boy, and the two lavender orbs widened slightly as she realized she had completely lost control, and let loose her most horrid memory. Her face lost all its remaining color before her skin turned a tinge of green. Hinata's right hand flew up to cover her mouth as she gasped and took a step back. Closing her eyes, she whispered, "Please excuse me," as she shifted around Sasuke and ran up the stairs to their designated room. Sasuke muttered a few curse words, glaring deeply at Inari, before he ran around the table and up the stairs after her.

Tsunami stared with a horrified expression as two of her guests ran away from the eating area because of her son's harsh words. Tazuna frowned deeply, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the last Uchiha run after the Hyuuga, but merely picked up his cup of tea and drank from it. Kiba and Shino seemed out of place and confused, not sure why their teammate had reacted so strongly and not sure if they should deal with the young brat that had started it all. The two genin found themselves glancing over to look at their sensei, Kurenai, who looked at a loss for words, herself. The woman met her students' eyes but found herself unable to hold the eye contact. She turned to look at Kakashi, but he could give her no advice to follow. Kurenai looked at the now fuming Sakura, who was glaring at Inari, who was returning the action.

"You have a problem, Forehead?" Inari snarled, much to Sakura's disbelief. She slammed a hand down on the table, taking care not to use too much force as she had in Kurenai's apartment. Her leaf-green eyes darkened to a forest-green as she gritted her teeth.

"Why you…! How dare you call me that, you–!"

She was interrupted when Naruto burped with satisfaction and held out his rice bowl to a speechless Tsunami. His grin was wide and bright as he gestured with his bowl.

"More please!" he said, rubbing his stomach. "Man, that was some awesome grub! Hey, do you think you have any more fish? I could sure eat some more…and more rice please!" he added at the end as Tsunami rose to fulfill his request, albeit a bit hesitantly.

Sakura stared at him as he trembled with glee when Tsunami gave him another plate of fish and two more bowls of rice. He grabbed one bowl and plunged into it with his chopsticks, hurriedly eating grain after grain. In the midst of his feast, he noticed Sakura staring at him, her expression indecipherable. He showed his pearly-white teeth, setting his bowl down as he paid her close attention.

"What's up?" he asked, plucking a grain of rice from the edge of his mouth and tossing it in his mouth. Sakura blinked, and smiled softly. "You're something else," she said warmly, reaching for her own bowl of rice.

Naruto frowned, shrugging and placing a hand on her shoulder as he leaned closer. "Hey, hey," he whispered, causing her to raise an eyebrow in interest. "Do you think Haku's ready to come inside yet? He's just been sitting out there, mourning over Zabuza. I guess we could be brothers, since we were both sulking for so long at the same time."

"Ah, I suppose," she conceded. She laid her bowl and chopsticks back down on the table and rose up fluidly. Smiling at Naruto, she said, "I'll see if I can't bring him on in."

Directing her attention to Tsunami, she asked, "Is there enough food for the boy sitting outside? If not, Naruto and I can gather food ourselves."

Tsunami blinked slowly before quickly shaking her head. "No, that's not necessary, Haruno-san! Please, do bring the boy in! I'm certain there are still a few fish remaining, and we have plenty of rice left!"

You say that even with how much Naruto's consuming? Sakura questioned inwardly, but smiling at the woman anyway. "Thank you, Tsunami-san. I'll return shortly."

Naruto and the other people sitting at the dinner table watched as Sakura calmly walked out of the house, the door shutting behind her. The blond smiled when he and everyone else heard soft niceties exchanged, and began to dig into his fish when he heard soft sobbing. Hesitating, his chopsticks holding the piece of fish wavered in his hand. Sakura's calm and soothing words seemed to quiet the crying, and Naruto managed to take the small piece of fish into his mouth. He chewed happily when random comments were thrown back and forth outside, though he choked on a part of the fish when he heard a loud bump. He was still coughing when Sakura opened the door with a cheerful face and dragged the hurting Haku in, sitting him down next to her while she sat beside Naruto. Tsunami, despite being uncertain of what took place outside, set a fish-filled plate and bowl of rice in front of Haku, who smiled gratefully.

Inari frowned as Haku began to eat, before the frown turned into a scowl. "Another one?" he asked incredulously. "Why are you here?"

Haku met the boy's eyes with a warm expression. "The ninja of Konoha are helping me to overcome my difficulties."

"Even though it was our fault in the first place, kind of," muttered Naruto, chewing his food slowly. Inari stared at the blond before shooting a questioning glance over at Haku. "What'd they do?"

"They did nothing they were not trained to do," stated Haku evasively as he pulled off a piece of his fish. "The battle was a bit more difficult than Zabuza-sama and I were prepared for, and so we paid the consequences. I have grieved for too long, or so Haruno-san has told me."

Sakura's cheeks turned a pinkish hue, and she dug into her food more vigorously, much to both Haku and Naruto's amusement. Haku ate some rice with his fish, and sighed contentedly. "Of course," he continued, "Zabuza-sama will not be forgotten for me. I will always remember him."

Inari frowned, leaning forward. "Yeah? What was he to you?"

"Practically my father," Haku said easily, continuing to eat. Inari, however, could only widen his eyes in disbelief.

"These people…killed your father? Someone you looked up to more than anything?"

"Hmm?" murmured Haku, not quite understanding where the boy was going. "As I stated before, there was nothing else to be done in such a situation."

"They could have not killed him!"

"Then they would have died," Haku retorted calmly. "It is understandable for one to place one's own life above another's, particularly in a dangerous situation such as was our shinobi battle. I know that had the circumstances been any different, the Konoha ninja would not have killed. Thus why I am content enough to try and just remember the times I shared with Zabuza-sama. And again, as Haruno-san told me before, grieving won't bring him back, and will make me become a gruesome creature."

Smiling over at Sakura, whose cheeks were quite red by this point, he chuckled. "I would not want to become something to be feared based on emotions I should be able to control."

Inari stared at Haku with something akin to anger and aggravation. He glared at Naruto and Sakura, before glancing to his right at Kiba and Shino, and then onto Kakashi and Kurenai. "Which of you killed that guy's father?" he demanded, looking at all six of them. "Which one did it?"

Sakura sighed, setting down her chopsticks as she clapped her hands together. "Thank you for the good meal," she said, smiling at Tsunami. Turning back to look at Inari, she tilted her chin up, annoyance flitting across her face. "I killed him, if you so desperately needed to know. What of it?"

Inari gaped at her open honesty, before sneering. "And you call yourself a hero? You're nothing but dirt."

"Correction," Sakura stated in a clear voice, "I do not have the hero complex. You would be referring to my boyfriend, the human food vacuum. In any case," she continued, ignoring Naruto's indignant sputters, "yes, I killed. Again, what of it? I'm a shinobi. I will protect myself and my own before considering that of an enemy's health."

"So you're just selfish."

"More or less, I suppose," she said, shrugging. "Do you have any other questions? If not, Kiba, Shino, and I have some training to deal with. Don't bother us, okay?"

She stood up, walked around Haku and motioned for Kiba and Shino to follow her. Inari gritted his teeth and glared daringly at Naruto, who ignored it easily. Looking at Haku, Kakashi, and Kurenai, Naruto said, "I'm going to retrieve Sasuke and Hinata, if possible. Then I want to talk to you about the Gatoh situation."

Turning his focus to Kurenai, he added, "I need you to be there without a doubt. You're a key point in this plan."

Her expression became confused, but she nodded nonetheless. "All right," Naruto murmured. Looking at Tsunami, he bowed his head. "Thanks for the meal. Think I could hire you out and steal you away to Konoha? I'll pay you to be my cook."

Tsunami stared at him with open disbelief, until Naruto grinned, his eyes bright. "Kidding, kidding. I'll be outside soon – just let me fetch those two upstairs."

Kurenai watched him jump over the table and run up the stairs, his feet pounding against every wooden step. Sighing, she directed Kiba and Shino to wait outside for her and Kakashi. Looking at him, she tilted her head. "What do you think he needs with me now?"

"Who knows?" asked the silver-haired jounin rhetorically. "He's always thinking of something or another. You'd better be prepared for it, though…whatever it may be."

---

Hinata laid down on the floor, her head in Sasuke's lap as she looked up at him pensively. He was gazing out the window, his left hand gently running through her short hair, making her feel calm and peaceful. Closing her eyes, she allowed herself to relax further, lowering her awareness slowly. She frowned when she heard various shouts downstairs, attributing them to the rude boy she had became so infuriated with earlier. Now that she recollected over that, she grimaced slightly. How befitting of a matriarch she was…growing angry over the comments from a silly child.

"He's a bit different this time around," Sasuke began softly, gaining her attention, "but he turns out to be a good kid. I think. I never really paid attention to him the first time around. Something about annoying kids being annoying, or something."

Hinata chuckled. "Yes, I would assume annoying kids are indeed that – annoying."

"But now he's just intolerable," the boy argued, his coal-black eyes narrowed as he continued to look out the window. "I don't remember him being that bad the first time."

Sighing, Hinata shook her head gently. "Maybe your memory's leaving you."

Sasuke blinked slowly, his eyes narrowing further. "No, I'm quite positive that he was different before. Not as persistent and rude as this time around. Speaking of which…there are a lot of weird things going on this time around."

"Like?"

"Mizuki…I guess that was going to happen one way or another. But I do not recall Zabuza being so powerful. We had two teams, two jounin included. Four of us are from the future, with advanced experience and jutsu. We won the battle the first time around with just a few pretty tricks and Kakashi's unarguably excellent skills. Why is it that with so many more skilled people, could we barely do any damage to Zabuza until the very end?"

Sasuke ran his hands through his hair as he grew more and more irritated. Hinata frowned up at him, pushing herself from the floor and turning to look at him. The last Uchiha blinked quickly, his eyes shifting left and right quickly, causing Hinata to frown deeper. Sasuke looked at her, his eyes fierce. "Our time travel could not have done this much damage without us doing anything. Where did Zabuza get all that strength from? And Haku? Zabuza couldn't make that many clones before, and they weren't nearly as strong either. Haku didn't even try using his Makyou Hyou Shou, which increased his speed tenfold, no, twentyfold when racing from one mirror to another. If possible, he seemed even more gentle this time around.

"Even with our chakra building exercises, all of us were having a lot of trouble, and we couldn't get solid hits. We couldn't use a lot of big attacks either – our chakra systems wouldn't be able to handle them. I mean, if…"

Sasuke trailed off, his eyes widening slightly as thoughts raced through his head. Hinata waited patiently for his ending thoughts, to see where he was going with his revelations. Her boyfriend looked back up at her, face expressing slight horror, which did nothing but cause her to tense more. He stood up quickly, looking down at the Hyuuga heiress. "Hinata, do you remember if they used any big attacks? Other than mist and Mizu Bunshin?"

Hinata was about to respond when Naruto suddenly burst into the room, smiling. Sasuke and Hinata stared over at him, and Naruto slowly lost his grin, his eyes shifting from one teammate to the other. "What's up?" he asked slowly, eyes narrowing. "Seems really serious."

"Naruto," Sasuke called despondently. The blond turned his gaze over to the Uchiha, now frowning. Sasuke glanced up at him. "Do you remember if Zabuza and Haku happened to use any big jutsu?"

"Huh?" Naruto answered eloquently. "That was kind of random."

"Answer the question!"

The blond sighed, placing his hands on his hips. "No. What's that have to do with anything?"

"Why did we have so much trouble fighting those two, with all our resources, if all they used was a simple mist jutsu, and a Mizu Bunshin jutsu?"

Naruto frowned at the boy, though Sasuke could see the blond was quickly replaying the last battle in his head. Naruto's expressions went from bored, to thoughtful, to surprised, and finally to shocked and horrified. Hinata looked at the two boys, understanding vague bits of the conversation, but not quite certain where it stemmed from. Naruto clenched his fists. "He didn't use that water jutsu, and Haku didn't use that ice jutsu! Wait, Haku wasn't even in the first battle! Why was he this time? Crap, we asked Kurenai-sensei's team to keep him busy, but he joined the battle? We also had to watch for that rower guy with Tazuna, and we had to make sure Kiba and Shino didn't die…but we had two jounin! And there were so many Mizu Bunshin…why? How did he get that power?"

If nothing else, Sasuke began to scowl even more. "I have one more question."

Naruto looked at him, feeling slightly frantic now. Sasuke held his gaze steady, asking, "What was that white light? And why did only us that traveled through time suffer through it?"

The vessel stared at Sasuke, uncertain of what to say. Looking from Hinata back to the other boy, he could only think of two words:

"Oh…shit."

---

Sakura sat up in a tree looking through her medical supplies and directing Shino and Kiba through their training when Naruto came up to their training grounds, Hinata, Sasuke, and Haku in tow. She narrowed her eyes slightly when she saw chakra billowing around the blond every so often, making it seem as if there were a small breeze running through the area. Packing up her supplies again, Sakura stood up, reattaching the bag around her waist. A second later, she vanished from the branch and appeared next to her teammates, though Naruto did nothing but glance at her quickly. Sakura frowned, not understanding what had caused Naruto to activate his serious mode, easily recognized by the cold depths of his eyes and the cool façade he carried.

"Kakashi, Kurenai," said Naruto calmly, placing his hands in his pockets. Sakura raised an eyebrow at the blond – as if the two jounin would hear him when he spoke in such soft tones, especially when they were sparring. Annoyance flitted across Naruto's face, and he took a deep breath.

"Kakashi! Kurenai! Gather!"

Suffice to say, the rosette wasn't too surprised when the two jounin only looked over at the blond, incredulous expressions on their faces. Naruto tilted his chin up, eyes narrowing slightly. "I gave you an order, and expect it obeyed. We've had a change of situation. From this point on, we're not playing around."

He stopped speaking momentarily when the jounin walked over to his group, and then continued: "Due to recent discussion, it has been brought to my attention that some things have seriously been changed from the first time we went on this mission, to now."

Turning to an approaching Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino, he nodded. "First thing to have overall changed from the first time Hinata, Sasuke, Sakura, and I did this, was of course with Mizuki. And as we told you, the first battle with Zabuza and Haku wasn't nearly as tiresome as this last one was, and Team Eight had not assisted us either. The first time around, Zabuza executed quite a few more jutsu than this time around, which is why Kakashi was drained so much. However, we had Team Eight in this last battle, so, considering all we knew before, it should have been a simple enough battle do deal with. Why wasn't it?

"I can only assume that had Zabuza or Haku used any high rank jutsu, we would have lost, quite easily. I cannot blame this on anything but inexperience, disillusion, lack of knowledge, and lack of preparation. Skill, to be honest, has nothing to do with that battle, as everyone produced a good amount of it. So, to make up for our faults, we will be training. A lot."

Turning to Kiba and Shino, he said, "I will be having people of my team working with you two extensively. We will be increasing your chakra storages by twenty percent, if possible. I will have you both tested for your element affinities–"

"I know them," Hinata interrupted softly. Naruto looked at her, nodded once, and turned back to the two boys.

"All right. Then based on Hinata's knowledge of your affinities, we will be having you learn several jutsu in that area. I'm sure that won't be possible to accomplish in the time we have left here, so we'll just have you work with chakra training. For the next few days, or however much time we have left, you will be concentrating on tree-climbing. I know you already know the process, and have pretty much gotten the hang of it, but that's not good enough. Whoever I assign to be your mentor, you will listen to without complaint."

When Kiba looked ready to protest, Naruto glared at him, repeating, "Without complaint. In addition, whomever your mentor may be, you will listen to unconditionally, and will be who you look to for more advanced training, whether that be forms of taijutsu, or jutsu for genjutsu and taijutsu. Kekkei Genkai will of course be handled by your families. Let's move on to punishment: if for any reason your mentor deigns you having been insubordinate, or something of the like or worse, they have the authorization to deal out punishment as they see fit. If either of you continue to be hard to deal with, the jounin of my choice will then deal out your punishment. After that, you will deal with me. And I guarantee that whatever I have in store for you, may very well kill you. So let's hope you don't have to see me in that regard."

Turning to Kakashi, Kurenai, Sakura, and Haku, he said, "You have questions. I will answer them shortly. First and foremost, though…

"Sasuke, you will take Kiba and Akamaru, and Hinata, you will work with Shino. I want them to do five sets on whatever tree you like. After they succeed with that, you will move on to ten, fifteen, twenty, and so on. Do not give them too much time of rest. And, just so there aren't any bad feelings from the start, you will do it with them."

Sasuke and Hinata looked at each other, each grimacing slightly. The vessel looked at them, frowning slightly. "Is that a problem? I need your chakra storages increased as well, so I believe this a great way to do so. Again, is there a problem?"

Sasuke and Hinata turned to him, each taking up a stance at 'attention' and bowing their heads. "No, Uzumaki-taichou."

When Naruto raised his eyebrow at the title, they both walked away towards their dependents, muttering, "Habit."

Focusing then on who was left, he raised his eyebrow at the two jounin that seemed to be bursting with questions. Kakashi looked at Kurenai, who nodded at him. The silver-haired jounin then asked Naruto, "Taichou?"

"I was an ANBU captain. Next?"

"What constitutes a set?" asked Kurenai. "It doesn't sound too pleasant."

"A set consists of walking up a tree five steps, doing twenty squats in place, walking up another five steps, another twenty squats, and so on. You finish a set once you've gone up and down the tree once. If you fall, no matter what part of the set you were on – even if you were on Part C, where you're doing fifteen sets, you start over with Part A, with five sets, and work your way up again."

Kakashi frowned, looking over at where Sasuke and Hinata were. "You couldn't have given them an easier exercise? They're new at this, unlike you."

"That's a starter set, Kakashi. Let's move on."

"Okay," said Sakura. "Why the sudden need for training?"

A few moments passed by where Naruto just closed his eyes and said nothing. Tilting his head slightly, he shifted his gaze over to look at the others were starting their sets before looking back at Sakura. "Earlier, when I went to check on Sasuke and Hinata, I was presented with a few details that caused me some alarm. I told you the first source of my alarm, but I cannot tell you the second. Not just yet. However, take note of this:

"If we had so much trouble effectively dealing with Zabuza, then how will we ever be able to cross paths with Orochimaru in the future? Much less Akatsuki? We will die."

His point-blank statement was slowly processed by Sakura, though her eyes widened quickly when she understood. Groaning slightly, Sakura moved to massage her temples while closing her eyes. Kakashi and Kurenai looked at the young woman, noticing her sudden tension. Slipping his hands in his pockets, Kakashi faced Naruto with his piercing, right eye.

"What does this battle have to do with Orochimaru? What do you know of him, and what's 'Akatsuki'? Is this an enemy Konoha should be wary of?"

"Also," interjected Kurenai, "how do those people effect our current situation, and statuses? What should we be doing to make this situation more so in our favor? Is that even a possibility?"

Naruto frowned slightly and looked over at Haku. "Have any questions, yourself?"

The ice-user tilted his head slightly, asking, "Who is Orochimaru, exactly? I don't recall Zabuza-sama ever saying anything about him."

"He wouldn't," Naruto muttered.

Ignoring that comment, Haku also said, "I'm also curious about this 'Akatsuki'. Will my skills aid you any in the upcoming battles? I would like to lend a hand in your battles. I shall be your tool whenever you may need me, Uzumaki-san."

Naruto turned to give Haku an indecipherable glance. "I'll get mad at you for that comment later," he said flatly. "In any case, Haku, as far as I'm concerned, you're part of our team already. We'll get you registered as an actual Konoha ninja later. That's of no consequence at the moment. Moving on…"

The blond crossed his arms over his chest and tilted his head back as he got ready for a long discussion: "To start, Orochimaru is an S-classed missing-nin who took an odd pleasure in practicing experiments on people. While the people he chose were often unknowns to everyday society, the fact that he did was reason enough for treason alone. He ruined a lot of lives by doing that. For example," Naruto continued, looking at Kurenai in particular, "he implanted a ridiculous seal called the Cursed Seal of Heaven on one of our village's jounin when she was a child. Her name is Mitarashi Anko, and to this day, she still suffers pain from him. Though luckily for her, Orochimaru was only testing the seal at that point."

He noticed Kurenai's eyes darken slightly and nodded his head. "The guy's a bastard, Haku. Make sure you get that into your head right here and now. However, I have a feeling that no matter how strong he was the first time I saw him, he'll be even stronger this time around. Which brings me to the point of why he's so significant for us."

The vessel tilted his head, thinking quickly. "Suppose I'll start with Sasuke. Of course, Kakashi and Kurenai know about the Uchiha Massacre. All of the Uchiha, save for Sasuke, were completely decimated. Being the last Uchiha standing, aside from his older brother who committed the crime, Sasuke is quite the precious person. He gives our village hope, for one, as his clan was very powerful, and two, bares the almighty Sharingan. As a person who wants all the jutsus in the entire world that could ever be thought of, Orochimaru will track down Sasuke until the end of the earth. And, as soon as we get back, it should be nearly time for the Chuunin Exams, right Kakashi?"

The aforementioned man raised his eyebrow, and shrugged. "I guess it's about that time."

"Yeah," agreed Naruto, nodding. "And at that time, Orochimaru will strike. Though it'll be during the second trial, when we're in the forest. Anko will be proctor."

Kurenai's face whitened slightly before her blood-red eyes hardened. "He will not touch her."

Kakashi laid a hand on Kurenai's shoulder and turned back to Naruto. "And Akatsuki?"

"Akatsuki is comprised of thirteen members, or at least, it used to, until Orochimaru fled. I won't give their names right now, but take care to understand that Itachi is part of the group."

Both jounins looked at one another and each leveled Naruto with a steel gaze. "So, who is our first priority?"

"Orochimaru," stated Naruto, eyes cold. "He will appear in the second trial. Akatsuki will come after me after that trial, during the month we're on reprieve before the final trial. Hopefully, I'll be able to track down both Jiraiya and Tsunade when they arrive."

"Jiraiya, the Great Toad Sannin?" Kakashi said with disbelief.

"Tsunade, the Great Medic Sannin?" Kurenai echoed.

"Heard of them, have you?" Naruto replied dryly. "Anyway, Orochimaru is our focus. We must also find all the Jinchuuriki. I already know where a few are, but we'll deal with that later.

"For now," he continued, "I will go over the plan for getting rid of Gatoh. However, as Kakashi and Sakura are not necessary for this plan to work, I'd like for you two to begin some sets as well."

Sakura gave him such a horrified look at he almost reconsidered, though he quickly steeled himself. "Haku, Kurenai, and I will do it, too, so don't give me that look."

He was momentarily interrupted by a loud thump and a couple of howls. Naruto, Sakura, Haku, Kurenai, Kakashi, and a curious Shino and Hinata turned to look at a howling Akamaru and Kiba, and a growling Sasuke. The latter jumped down to glare at Kiba, who was holding his calves and whimpering.

"You big, whiny baby!" yelled Sasuke. "Thanks to you, we have to start all over again. We didn't even get halfway up the damn tree, you pathetic mongrel!"

Kiba glared back up at the Uchiha. "I'm out of chakra, you dumbass! I told you that when we started the second twenty squats, but did you listen? No! You know why? 'Cause you're a dumbass!"

Sasuke's right eye began to twitch and he marched over and shoved a foot down into Kiba's stomach, the latter crying out in pain. "Who's the dumbass, you damned mongrel? Well, well, since you're out of chakra, guess we'll start doing push-ups! You don't need chakra to do that!"

"Are you insane? I'm fucking tired!"

"Well, now I know why you're not the alpha in your family. Little, weak pup!"

Kiba kicked off Sasuke's foot and rounded on him. "What the hell did you call me? Want to try me again? I'll beat you anywhere, anyhow!"

Naruto cleared his throat slightly, catching Sasuke's attention. Motioning over to Hinata and Shino as well, who had taken a break long before due to Shino's low chakra levels, Naruto waited until all four were next to him. Nodding slightly at Hinata, he glared over at Sasuke, and walked in front of the boy. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in curiosity before Naruto slammed his fist into the boy's face. The Uchiha stared up at Naruto with disbelief.

"Being an acting commander," began Naruto coldly, "calls for some sense. Why didn't you ask Hinata to check his chakra system to see if he was lying or not? Or why didn't you activate your Sharingan and check some things yourself? Your actions are undesirable. Now stand and receive your punishment."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, but stood up as ordered. When Naruto brought back his fist again, Sasuke closed his eyes tightly and waited for the hit…and waited…and waited. He opened his eyes quickly when he felt Naruto lay a hand on his shoulder, and grin.

"Just pay attention in the future, yeah?"

Sasuke's wide eyes stared into Naruto's warm ones, before he adopted a grin of his own. "Whatever."

"Let this be a warning to all of you," stated Naruto seriously as he turned away from Sasuke. "We aren't training for ourselves, we are training to save people. There's no room for idiocy here. Idiocy ruined us in the future, and I will not allow us to allow that to happen again. Now, those that just did sets, go ahead and rest. Sakura, Kakashi, begin your sets. You know the drill. As for Kurenai and Haku, follow me."

Naruto walked away from a groaning Sakura and a slightly befuddled Kakashi with Kurenai and Haku in tow. Leading them further into the forest, Naruto looked from Haku to Kurenai, his gaze cool. "Here's the deal," he began, placing his hands on his hips. "Gatoh expects Zabuza to report in within a week's time, right, Haku?"

Haku nodded gently, saying, "Yes, though he already had a large army of mercenaries at his beck and call."

"I thought as much. Which is why we will execute this plan in three days. We will spend the next couple of days training, and on that last day, we'll take down Gatoh. Kurenai, since she's the genjutsu specialist here, will transform into Zabuza and maintain his attitude during our mission. Haku, you will be her assistant, and show her how to fully get into character. Since Gatoh won't want you coming in empty-handed, you'll be taking me."

"You?" Kurenai asked skeptically. "Wouldn't he rather have someone well-known?"

"Once he learns how much value I hold as a slave, he'll be imploring you to have me. Also, I can only assume that he won't want anyone around when he talks to us but his two faithful servants. At least, I hope there are only still those two. Anyway," Naruto continued, rubbing the back of his head, "that's the plan. I couldn't think of anything more…grandiose, so, that's what we've got. I'm sure Kurenai can turn into Zabuza easily, right?"

The young woman nodded slowly, chakra gathering around her as she transformed into Momochi Zabuza. Naruto smiled at her, and she let her illusion fall. "Good," Naruto said, still smiling. "I have complete confidence in your ability to become Zabuza. Our mission will commence on the third night, at dusk."

He continued to grin at Kurenai until he felt the first droplet of rain fall on his nose. Naruto, Kurenai, and Haku looked up at the sky as a downpour of rain suddenly fell on them. The blond growled slightly when he heard shouts of annoyance in the background, and he ran back to the clearing.

"All right, you lazy bums! Get back to training! Kurenai, Haku, let's go! Beginning Set A, now! Kakashi and Sakura, take a break! We've got a lot of work to do, and the rain is not going to stop us! Let's go, let's go!"

---

Night of Second Day

The moon was high in the sky as the shinobi slept in their designated rooms, Naruto asleep beside Sakura and Sasuke in his place next to Hinata, and the other ninja scattered across the room. Not one of these skilled killers twitched when the bedroom door slowly opened, each one having been exhausted from the training over the past couple of days. The small figure crept in slowly, coming up the right side of Sakura and looking down at her. The object he had in his hands glinted in the incoming moonlight as he held it high over his head. He closed his eyes as he brought the weapon smashing down into the sleeping figure of Sakura.

He was surprised to see a puffs of clouds swirling around him and he looked down to see that there was no one present where he'd slammed down the knife. The lights flickered on and he looked around the room, seeing everyone staring down at him with annoyed expressions. Naruto walked forward and picked up the knife, measuring it from every angle.

"I'll forget this disservice," he began softly, his eyes still focused on the glinting steel, "if you leave this room without a word. Now."

Inari continued to stare at Naruto before gritting his teeth. "I'm not leaving this room! It doesn't even belong to you! Besides, I should kill her for killing that guy's father!"

"Don't be a child," said Sasuke, yawning slightly. "Killing someone else in vengeance won't do shit for you. Besides, if Haku wants to kill Sakura, he'd do it himself and not enlist the help of a nine-year-old."

"I'm eight!"

"Oops. Overestimated you. Sorry."

"Whatever!" shouted Inari, balling his hands into fists. "You all should just leave!"

Kiba scratched behind his right ear, yawning loudly. "What's your problem, kid? We're here to help you. You should be overjoyed we're taking the time to go and kill some old, bald guy."

"He has hair," said Naruto flippantly.

Kiba looked over at him. "What, really?"

"Whatever! Look, I don't want this town feeling even worse because some stupid, ninja kids got themselves killed! When that happens, Mom and Grandpa will feel even worse than before! And it'll be all your fault!"

Two tears fell down Inari's face as he dropped his head, sniffling all the while. "H-he tried to do what you're doing now…and they killed him! That stupid Gatoh killed him! I…I hate that guy!"

When Inari lifted his eyes, Naruto noted their fierceness, and smiled inwardly. The kid has more of a spine this time around.

Inari ran up to Naruto and began throwing his fists at the latter's chest, tears still falling down his face. "I don't want my mom to feel like that again! I don't want my grandpa to feel like that again! I don't want to feel like that again! Stop giving us hope! Stop making us feel…feel like we can have good lives again! Please, just…"

Inari felt himself slide down to the floor, his body trembling from his crying. Naruto knelt down in front of the boy, and patted the latter's head.

"So," began Naruto, smiling softly. "What are you going to do to make that feeling real?"

Inari shifted his gaze up to the older blond's, eyes wide with confusion. "Huh?"

"Are you going to let that hope die again? You want your mom feeling like she did when Kaiza died? What about your grandpa if his bridge idea fails? You want him to feel helpless and like he can't live anymore? And what about you? Do you want to feel like a little kid that can't do anything at all again?"

The little boy's black eyes shifted slightly and he narrowed them. "No! I want to protect my mom and grandpa! I want to become stronger!"

"Oh my God, finally!" muttered Sasuke, running his hands through his hair. "I was about to kick him out the door. Time for some sleep!"

Inari glared at Sasuke who pointedly ignored the boy. Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, I agree with him, kind of. We need some serious sleep. Big day tomorrow."

"Oh, okay," conceded Inari, backing out of the room as all the shinobi went back to their sleeping places. He reached up to turn the light off, and while doing so, asked, "Are you leaving after tomorrow?"

"After the bridge gets done," came a lazy reply.

The young boy continued looking at the shinobi through the dark, and hesitantly asked, "Can you really defeat Gatoh?"

"That's the plan," came another reply. "Go to sleep, Inari."

Nodding, Inari bid them a good night.

---

Hours later, Naruto woke up quickly, his eyes dashing back and forth in the dark room. He wasn't even quite sure why he'd woken either, but just that something had forced him to an awakened state. The blond rubbed his forehead in confusion, and furrowed his eyebrows at his current predicament. Having been suddenly awakened, Naruto leaned back on his futon and crossed his arms behind his head, frowning. The vessel glanced over amusedly at Sakura, who had snuggled closer to him, but sighed when he realized he wouldn't be going back to sleep.

My nerves must be shot, he thought. Even though this is only Gatoh we're dealing with, I suppose I'm worried that he'll be overly powerful, too. I am very worried over how large his army exactly is, and whether we'll have to cut corners when fighting them. I'm also kind of worried about the villagers. Will they be okay while we're off dealing with Gatoh? But wait – Shino, Kiba, Sakura, Sasuke, Hinata, and Kakashi will still be here to protect everyone… I'll have to ask them to station themselves over the length of the entire village.

Now that I think about it…this overly heightened power is definitely disturbing. How strong will Orochimaru be, exactly? And Akatsuki? Will they come into play around the same time as before, or do we have to prepare for a difference as far as that goes, as well? If they really are a lot more powerful than the first time around, I'll have to enlist Team Ten's help a lot sooner than I had originally planned for. I'm kind of worried about that just because I don't want Shikamaru suddenly figuring out about our time traveling. Though I guess it doesn't really matter since they're going to have to find out at some point. I shouldn't worry.

I still don't know why I woke up so randomly.

He gently pushed off Sakura and moved to stand up. Straightening to his full height, Naruto ran both his hands through his hair, and walked out of the room. Moving down the stairs quickly and silently, Hokage-to-be touched the ground floor without a sound. His cornflower-blue eyes shifted back and forth through the darkness yet again. Why had he woken up, if nothing seemed amiss?

Naruto made his way through the living room, the kitchen, dining area, and the foyer in front of the front door without incident. Slipping his sandals on, the young man walked outside and took in a deep breath as he looked at the large, pearl-white moon from where he stood on the porch. Tilting his head, the blond jumped into the lush grass, and took in another deep breath of fresh air.

"Ah, this weather feels great!"

"I think it's a bit humid, actually…"

The young man spun around at the second voice, his eyes searching for who had spoken. Tilting his head back, he saw Kurenai smiling at him from where she was perched on the roof. Surprised, Naruto grinned back and vanished, only reappearing right next to her.

"Late night bird-watching?"

"Hmm, I wouldn't say that," Kurenai murmured, leaning back on the roof tiles. "What you've told us about the power level difference between the Zabuza you ran into before, and the one we just fought has worried me greatly. And having come from another village myself, I have never met Orochimaru…only heard of his exploits. Knowing he did what he did to Anko angers me, and I feel uncontrollable hatred towards this man…but if what you say is true, and he is mysteriously stronger than should be, then I fear for my best friend. Actually, I'm… I'm scared to no small degree. Anko may have a strong front when in company with the village, but alone, she is a fragile woman. More fragile than you may believe."

Naruto frowned at the older woman, and narrowed his eyes slightly. "Fragile?"

"She, too," continued blood-red-eyed woman, "was an orphan, Naruto. However, unlike you, and perhaps, more unluckily than you, she knew her parents. She knew precisely who they were, and so did the rest of the village."

"Were they bad?"

"The Mitarashi clan was well-known for their violence and hostility – another reason why people are very uneasy when associating with Anko."

Naruto turned away from Kurenai, his heart heavy as he considered the woman's words. He had to be honest and admit that he really didn't know anything about the snake mistress, other than the fact that she had scared the hell out of him in the Chuunin Exams. He had originally thought her loud, boisterous, and wanting for blood, and had never really considered her anything otherwise. Naruto had never considered her to be carrying the same mask he did, day after day, week after week…

"So," he began slowly, "why did you say she was unlucky to know her family? Isn't being able to know who brought you into the world a good thing? If I could have seen my parents, and been able to talk to them, I'm sure I would have been really happy. I can't help but think she's really lucky."

Kurenai gave him a wistful smile, and shifted her eyes back up to the large moon in the sky. "The grass is always greener on the other side. While her mother, I've been told, had been a strong woman and loved and admired throughout the entire village, her father had been everything but. He had married into the family, had been given the name Mitarashi and had been thought to be someone who would steer the Mitarashi clan in the best direction possible. Turns out, everyone was wrong.

"The man's initial name had been Bikarin Porererin–"

"That's a really weird name," interrupted Naruto.

"It was only an alias. No one knows what his true name was, and his village was so small, it was inconsequential. I'm not too knowledgeable on the details but, I had heard there were these men were castoffs from the war long before, between the Senju clan and the Uchiha clan. They were degenerates that didn't carry any bloodlines, and were therefore considered worthless in the olden days. A village was built and it housed all those degenerates. I'm not sure why, but it was years before they finally decided to strike. I suppose it took that long for them to figure out a plan to easily invade our boundaries."

"So, how did he get in?"

"I'm not sure about that either. I never thought to ask Anko since it was a sore subject with her. The main point of the whole matter is that her father was, in essence, a spy for another village and sent to tear Konoha down from the inside out. It makes sense to target the Mitarashi, I suppose, since they were considered even more arrogant than the Uchiha, but I can only thank the Heavens that they were such stupid people. What's unfortunate, was we never found out how smart they actually could be until it was too late."

Naruto felt his body tense slightly at the foreboding he'd gotten from her last statement. "What do you mean?" he asked softly. "What happened?"

Kurenai looked at him, smiled softly, and whispered, "A few weeks after the village had been eradicated, and everyone, including Porererin had been killed, people from the Mitarashi clan suddenly began to die."

Shock hit Naruto hard and he stared at Kurenai with disbelief. "What? They just suddenly started dying out of nowhere? Was the clan house laced with poison or something? How'd that happen? Did everyone get poisoned? What about Anko?"

"That's what's so mysterious about it – no one really knows what happened. Tsunade-sama at one point considered a poisonous gas, but Anko hadn't been touched. Then people assumed food, but Anko would've been eating the same exact dishes. Others considered that maybe Anko had taken on a demon inside of her and killed everyone herself."

""What!" yelled Naruto loudly, completely outraged. "She was just a kid back then! How could they blame her for something like that?"

Kurenai stared over at him, her face slack with surprise. Slowly, her eyes grew warmer, and she smiled softly at him, much to the boy's confusion. Turning away, she continued:

"I'm not all too clear on what they had deduced as the final conclusion, but, it wasn't that incident that turned people away from the Mitarashi clan for good. It was the scene of Mitarashi Chihasa, the mother of Anko – the kind, loving woman that everyone enjoyed being with – with a kunai in her hands as she slit the throat of all her fellow clansmen."

She took a deep breath, and swallowed slowly, keeping her eyes closed as she said, "The ones that had not died by the mysterious poison, were killed at her very hands. And Anko had seen it all done right in front of her."

The Kyuubi vessel's face drained of color, and he felt himself grow queasy. To have seen the rest of her family murdered, right in front of her eyes…

Taking in deep breaths, Naruto quickly thought about how similar Anko was to Sasuke in that retrospect. Shakily, he shifted his gaze back over to Kurenai, who chose not to glance back at him.

"You may think her situation is similar to the Uchiha boy's, but you're quite mistaken," she murmured softly. "Unlike Itachi, whose motives are still unknown to this day, Chihasa had done this all for the sake of her young, five-year-old child. 'Kill the poison before it kills my child,' Chihasa had stated when the ANBU had arrived. Chihasa had known that Anko had somehow been saved, but could still contract the poison-induced death while the rest of the clan members were alive. With that last line, Mitarashi Chihasa was killed, and what had been a prominent forty-to-fifty member clan, had suddenly dwindled to just one.

"Because of that, people never treated Anko quite the same way. They looked at her as a devil's child, and the one that had survived something that should have been nigh impossible. She was then an orphan, her clan gone in an instant, and left with nothing but hatred and disgust from the rest of the village. Admittedly, for such a background, it's amazing she turned out as sane as she did."

"While Sasuke was hailed as the last Uchiha, Anko was looked down upon with disdain," muttered Naruto. "She knew her parents, and they were the very same whom she had loved, and been disgraced by."

He dropped his head into his hands, and Kurenai sighed softly. "I don't know why I told you all of that, but thank you for listening," she whispered. "I'd held that story within for a long time, without being able to tell anyone. I didn't trust anyone to not try to hurt Anko because of it."

Naruto nodded slowly, and leaned back on the roof tiles beside Kurenai. "How'd you know all that? It seems like you know everything about everything."

"Being a genjutsu specialist isn't only about your senses, Naruto," she said admonishingly. "You must also be able to know the past, present, and could-be future. Genjutsu is also especially about knowledge. The more knowledge you possess, the better off you will be in the end. The more you have to hold over your enemy's hand, the longer you will stay alive."

Naruto tilted his head slightly, squinting his eyes as he thought about what Kurenai had just told him. "Yeah, I guess…"

The older woman let out a heavy sigh and stood up slowly on the roof. Looking down at Naruto's piercing-blue eyes, she shook her head. "You requested that I help you learn genjutsu. However, I can't help you until you help yourself. For the next few weeks, I want you to pay very close attention to your surroundings, and the people you associate yourself with. Learn about them. Understand them. Relate to them. When it comes to the point where you can talk about them like you can talk about yourself, you are almost ready to learn genjutsu. When you can go around a foreign area and know it like you know your own home, you are far closer to being ready to learn genjutsu. When it has come to the point where you understand the real difference between the past, present, and future, then you are completely prepared to begin the journey to mastering genjutsu.

"Until then," she said, nodding and giving a slight bow, "I bid you a good night."

She turned to jump off the roof, but then looked back at the bewildered blond, and gave him a slow, small, radiant smile.

"And thank you, Uzumaki Naruto, for listening. Thank you."

---

The dawn of dusk that night centered around three figures traipsing through the woods in the dark, each exuding a large amount of tension as they neared a large mansion surrounded by more than five hundred armed men. A large man shoved forward a young blond boy, his dark-brown eyes focused intently on the two guarding the main entrance. Another young effeminate man came forward, taking a guard position in front of the larger man. One guard stepped in front of the young man, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Finally returned? Lousy good-for-nothing ninjas."

Haku narrowed his eyes, and whipped a senbon out, holding it up to the other man's neck. "Your words are unnecessary. Grant us entrance. Zabuza-sama has returned."

The guard stared down at the senbon, and took a step back before noticing the blond tied up beside Haku. "Oh, what's this?" he asked, picking up the blond by his collar. Grinning, the guard shook the boy back and forth. "A ninja? From Konoha even? Well done. Gatoh will pay you whatever this guy is worth. Though it doesn't seem like much."

Haku glared icily at the guard, and swiftly spun around, launching a spinning back kick at the guard and throwing him away a few feet. "Do not sully the prisoner with your grimy hands," he said reproachfully. "Gatoh will want him in excellent condition."

Turning around, he looked up at the larger man, and nodded. "Zabuza-sama, we must hurry. Gatoh is expecting us."

Momochi Zabuza hefted up the blond boy on his shoulder, and cocked his head to the side. "Lead on, Haku."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama."

Haku pushed aside both the guards and the large, front doors. His face baring a cool, calm expression, the young man led his older partner down a series of corridors for what seemed like five to ten minutes. Not too long after, Haku turned down a large, long corridor with a set of double-doors at the end. Upon reaching the doors, he knocked on one, and when granted entrance, he and his partner walked in swiftly. The door closed quickly behind them, and Zabuza shrugged off the boy on his shoulder, dropping him to the floor without a second thought. The blond quickly jumped to his feet, muttering obscenities under his breath.

"As commanded," Haku began, "Zabuza-sama and I have returned from killing the Konoha ninjas. As proof, we have taken one of the enemy ninja under capture, and offer him to you, in exchange for a greater reward."

Gatoh, a short, pudgy, old man with sunglasses and a greedy grin on his face, stood up from where he sat and moved around his desk to stare at the blond ninja glaring back at him. "Oh, so this is what one of the scavengers…looks…like…?"

Gatoh ended his sentence softly in a whisper as he looked at the kunai stuck into his chest, and then back at the cornflower-blue eyes openly mocking his shock. The pudgy man slowly reached for the kunai in his chest, and forced out,

"Who…are…you?"

A menacing grin crossed the blond's face. "Uzumaki Naruto, at your service. Jig's up. Time to get this show on the road!"

The sound of two thumps behind him brought him back to reality and he lifted up a mini-radio to his mouth.

"All hands on deck! Let's bring these puppies to their makers!"

Shouts of boisterous agreement and laughter met his order and he turned around to grin at Yuuhi Kurenai and Haku.

"Well," he said. "Let's go."

---

A few days passed after the Gatoh Incidental Murder – or so Naruto liked to call it – before the bridge was finished in all its entirety. The days of peace had been complete with a festival of good tidings, named the Oncoming of Stormy Faith for both the rough weather experienced in the time the Konoha ninja were present, and the less-than-lovely feelings concerning Gatoh. All of the ninjas from Konoha had been invited for a free buffet from the residents of the Land of the Wave, and had eaten until the village was satisfied. Toys were bought and won, and games were played and sometimes lost, and all present had a good time.

The times when the ninjas were not having fun, they were either training to exhaustion or spending time with Tazuna and his family. Inari especially became good friends with Naruto and Kiba, he loving their exuberant personality, and they appreciating his change of nature. Haku, too, grew to become very close friends Sakura and Hinata, all three enjoying the medical aspect of the shinobi work, and the act of saving carried more fruition than that of fighting.

Perhaps too soon, the time for everyone to leave came, and as the Konoha ninja took their first step off of the newly built bridge, the turned around to greet the entire village that had followed them across.

Naruto stepped forward, a smile wide on his face as he walked up to Tazuna. Giving the older man a hard look, the blond chuckled. "We've saved your land, so don't go causing a mess when we leave."

Tazuna grinned as well, and patted Naruto on the head. "We appreciate your hard work. Recently, we recovered Gatoh's bank statements, and we are already setting up a trial to try and get our money back. Don't worry, Naruto. Your actions will not have been in vain."

"That's good to hear," Naruto said as he walked back towards his group. Tilting his head slightly, he turned around again and asked,

"By the way… What are you going to name the bridge?"

Surprised, Tazuna looked at his daughter Tsunami before turning back to the group. "Well, I've been thinking of something for a while, and I think it fits!"

Sakura glanced at Naruto's eager face and rolled her eyes. Taking a deep breath, Tazuna said, "The name for our newly constructed bridge is: 'The Grace of Konoha'. So, what do you think?"

Sasuke and Sakura took one look at Naruto's crestfallen face and burst into laughter. The Wave citizens stared at the trio in confusion, and Naruto forced a grin. "Hey, sounds great.

"Well," he continued. "We'll be leaving now. To you all, we hope you'll take care!"

Both Team Seven, Team Eight, and Haku – who had agreed to become a shinobi of Konoha – turned around to begin their journey home, each footfall bringing both relief and a sense of sadness. No one dared to turn around at the sound of sniffles, or when the resident children shouted for them to come back and stay longer. Not until the trees hid the bridge and small island from sight did the ninja breathe more easily, and feel their conscious's fade away into the back of their minds.

The trip back was quiet and no battles were fought by any rogue ninjas. However, even though the trip was easygoing, one could see each ninja relax as soon as they stepped foot within the large gates of Konoha. Kakashi pulled out his Icha, Icha Paradise, much to the disgust of Kurenai, and began giggling happily as he read it. Hinata, Kiba, and Shino looked at Kakashi with disturbed expressions as they saw him blush and sway slightly. Hinata moved close to Sasuke, whispering,

"Has he always done that?"

"Forever and a day," deadpanned Sasuke. "It's something you have to get used to, unfortunately."

"Welcome to the hell of Team Seven," muttered Sakura, her eyes squinted tightly in annoyance – a trait she had recently developed from being in the constant presence of Naruto. "At least he hasn't reached the second stage."

Kiba turned his head towards the pink-haired girl after that last comment. "Wait, what second stage? He does more than giggle?"

Naruto coughed slightly before muttering, "Kakashi nearly lost his pride and joy after that incident in the future…past…our past… Whatever."

Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and Sasuke quickly spun their heads around to stare at Sakura, and she did nothing but ignore them. Looking back at them, Sakura frowned. "I don't want to see that part of any guy's anatomy – except Naruto's in the future, maybe – ever. If I even see a hump, I'll bash it. You know that little kid's game where you hit the moles with a mallet? Well, there you go."

Kiba, Shino, Sasuke, and Naruto all paled, and turned over to look at Kakashi who was still happily giggling. Haku blinked at them owlishly from his place on the other side of Kakashi, frowning as he tried to figure out what they were all so frightened of.

The entire group shifted over to the guard patrol station present not too far from the main entrance. As Kurenai, Haku, Kakashi – after hiding his book –, and their two teams walked up the station, Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu trained Haku with wary gazes before smiling over at Kakashi, Kurenai, and the two teams. Both Kakashi and Kurenai reached into their pouches and pulled out scrolls of identification, detailing both jounin and present genin. When Izumo peered over at Haku, his eyes widened as he saw the hitai-ate on the boy's forehead.

"A Kuri-nin!" he exclaimed, racing to get a couple of kunai alongside of Kotetsu.

Haku looked surprised when the two suddenly jumped over the table and raced towards him. He was yet again surprised to see Kurenai and Kakashi jump in for his sake and stop the two chuunin. Kakashi swirled Kotetsu around and pushed him to the ground, shifting a foot at the back of the chuunin's neck. Izumo, himself, had been trapped in a genjutsu and now stood still as Kurenai hovered a kunai near his neck.

Naruto frowned at the two jounin before glaring at Haku as he forcefully pulled off the older boy's hitai-ate. "Are you trying to make trouble?" he muttered, slamming the forehead protector in Haku's hands. "Thought you were converting."

Haku looked at Naruto and rubbed the back of his sheepishly. "I suppose I forgot I had it on. My apologies."

"So even he makes mistakes?" murmured Kiba with a frown. "Guess he is human, after all."

Kakashi pushed his foot down on Kotetsu's neck a bit harder, asking, "You plan to let us explain, or are you going to rush in again like a fool?"

After hearing a grunt for a consent, Kakashi hauled the other man up and walked over to stand beside Haku. Placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder, he said, "This is Momochi Haku – no village affiliation. He was under the care of Momochi Zabuza, and that is why he has a Kirigakure hitai-ate. However, he has agreed to convert over to being under Konoha's rule, thus making him an ally. I want one of you to secure us an appointment, so we won't have to wait on getting his papers underway."

Izumo let out a sigh of relief when Kurenai shifted away the kunai and frowned as she walked back over to the group. Counting his blessings, he slowly sauntered up next to Kotetsu and bowed his head.

"Understood," he said. "I will go make sure Hokage-sama has time scheduled for you."

As soon as the man had disappeared, Naruto sighed softly, causing the others to look at him.

"And now," he said, walking off in the direction of the Hokage Tower, "the hard part begins."

---

Half an hour later, Kakashi, Kurenai, their two teams and Haku were standing at attention in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen. The Sandaime exhaled softly as he looked at the reports previously given to him. Kiba shifted uncomfortably as the Hokage eyed each genin before looking back at the papers. Shifting a paper to the back of the pile, the old man proceeded to start reading the page now in the front. The nine people standing at attention continued to do so for twenty more minutes before the Hokage laid down his pile of reports and graced them with a serious expression.

"Let us review these reports, shall we?" he asked softly, picking up his pipe and lighting it. "Team Seven, during their escorting of the bridge builder Tazuna, went up against Momochi Zabuza of the Kirigakure, alongside of this young man. Haku, was it? In addition, Team Eight happened to intervene just as soon as the fight had begun. I assume this is the reason for why you wished for me to grant you and your team allowance to assist Team Seven on their first C-Ranked mission?" he finished, puffing his pipe.

Kurenai tensed, but nodded her head. "Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Indeed. And how, Yuuhi Kurenai, did you know to accompany Team Seven on their mission?"

The young woman stiffened slightly, and swallowed slowly. "I felt that Team Seven was not yet up to the task to efficiently complete the mission, and so felt…"

"And so you felt the need to usurp my authority and take your team on their mission as well."

Kurenai's blood-red eyes widened. "I did not intend for such a thing, Hokage-sama!"

Clearing his throat, Sarutobi frowned at the jounin. "And yet, that is precisely what you did. I wonder if I should take you off duty for such an irresponsible act. To be honest, I expected more of you, Kurenai-san."

Her face paled slightly and Kakashi cleared his throat, earning everyone's attention. "Actually, Hokage-sama, I was the one who described the contents of our mission to her."

The Hokage's eyebrows lifted perceptively, his surprise apparent all over his features. "You, Kakashi-san? I would have expected you to be more diligent in your duties. A jounin for thirteen years, part of the ANBU squad, even elevating up to captain rank… I am sincerely disappointed in you."

"Be that as it may, Hokage-sama, I did have my reasons."

"Enlighten me."

Kakashi closed his eyes while lowering his head slightly. "Something about what Tazuna had requested seemed fishy. The Land of the Waves is not a far off country, yet he wanted an escort? He is not considered to be a famed citizen, so why such a need? I felt there was something amiss with his statements, and asked for back-up just in case."

Sarutobi stroked his beard gently, but nodded slowly. "I see. However, why call upon a junior jounin and a fresh squad rather than ask for more experienced help?"

The silver-haired jounin tensed slightly, but otherwise made no other movements. "I trust Kurenai, and felt her skills would be best suited for something like this. Also, since her team's specialty is reconnaissance, that definitely seemed the best viable option. Team Ten is too low-level to be very good with assassination at the moment."

I hate lying like this, he thought fiercely. If the future weren't at stake, I would never have agreed to such terms!

"Why not Maito Gai's team instead?"

"Not to be rude, Hokage-sama, but do you honestly think I would have lasted very long were he doing the mission with me?"

The older man chuckled, and let out a large sigh. Setting down his pipe, he shuffled through more papers. Gazing around the entire desk, his eyes alit when he saw a scroll in the upper right hand corner. Both Kakashi and Kurenai narrowed their eyes slightly when they saw him unroll the scroll and sign his name at the bottom. After the Sandaime had stamped the scroll as well, he held it out to Kakashi, who took it without hesitation. When he looked up at the old man with confusion, Sarutobi nodded slightly.

"Though I realize you just got back, considering the success of your previous mission, I would like you to attend to this mission as well. It is also considered C-Rank, but shouldn't float up to A-Rank anytime soon."

The silver-haired man frowned at the scroll, quickly glanced at Kurenai, and then looked back at the older man with an unwavering gaze. "I would also like Kurenai and her team to attend this mission with me."

Sarutobi's eyebrows rose, and he frowned. "Yet again? Do you not feel competent enough to handle this with your team alone?"

"Actually, if I may, Hokage-sama?" interjected Kurenai softly. "Kakashi-san and I spoke previously and wondered if it were possible for our teams to be joined together, as a single unit. Of course, we can still split up into two teams, but instead of having the set three as before, we could switch out members depending on the missions required."

Having caught his attention, Kurenai plunged forward: "For higher ranked missions, Team Eight and Seven would merge together, forming a new team altogether. For separate missions, we could choose the members that would best fit the task. Having a specialized team is all well and good, Hokage-sama, but having a team where there are many options is much more fitting, wouldn't you say?"

"How often would these two teams be merged?"

Kurenai frowned slightly. "For all time, Hokage-sama. Only split when deemed necessary. Over the course of this last mission, I have seen the two teams bonding very closely together. I do not wish to tear them apart, and risk an inefficient mission."

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned softly, and picked up his pipe yet again. Gently shifting it back and forth between his thumb and forefinger, he thought about what she had told him. As he took a puff of the pipe, he let out a soft sigh, and looked up at the female jounin.

"While I understand your concern, Kurenai, please do understand that the very point of splitting the children up in the first place was to allow them the chance to operate as a unit without heavy reliance on anyone else. A three-man team, as opposed to a six-man team, is definitely more convenient, and allows you, the jounin, more time with each person on a one-to-one basis. If there were even a chance of producing a six-man team, how would you go about it? Kage Bunshin, perhaps? A good idea in theory, but even both you and Kakashi combined do not carry enough chakra to do a constant practice of that every day.

"And let's think of an instance in which you may disagree in concern to what I've said. What would happen if you were out on a mission, and both of you were incapacitated? Then, instead of having three genin on your conscious, you would have six. Instead of allowing three people to die, you would have six dead. Regardless, neither number is suitable in any circumstance, but I'm sure you understand where I'm going here."

Seeing both Kakashi and Kurenai tense slightly, as well as a few of the genin, he inwardly sighed once again. "However," he continued, noticing both jounin look up slightly, "procedure without practice goes no further than simple experimentation. Considering the success rate of your last mission, I will allow you to carry a six-man team this once. Based on the results of this…test, we will see whether a bigger, more flexible unit is more passable than a smaller, fixed unit. This is my final decision on the matter. Anymore arguments to be brought to my attention?"

When his question met with silence, he cleared his throat and took another puff of his pipe. "Very well then. Then let us move on to the briefing of your mission. As a six-man cell, you will be traveling to the Land of Snow. Your task is to successfully annihilate the Firosu squad in the eastern quadrant of the country. The squadron is comprised of twenty genin-level combatants, two chuunin-level, and two jounin-level."

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura's eyes widened at the news. Falling out of attention, Naruto ran up to the Sandaime's desk. "Not that I'm not happy, but," he began, grinning widely, "that doesn't seem like a C-Rank mission."

"Well observed, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi said with a small smile. "Originally, I had planned on giving Team Seven an escort and protection mission, but due to your growth in size, I have decided a higher level mission may be more suitable for you. Due to the jounin you will be fighting, your mission has been increased to A-Rank. I believe Team Ten would probably be better off with the escort and protection mission. They need the experience anyway."

Team Ten is going to protect Koyuki this time around? thought Naruto, frowning as he looked back at the kind, old man who had raised him in his younger years.

Turning back to look at Sasuke and Sakura, and a slightly confused Hinata, he tilted his head slightly, silently asking if they were all right with the way things were going. Sasuke merely shifted his eyes away, and Sakura smiled softly. Hinata, completely unaware of why this was such a big deal, merely turned her confused gaze to the blond. A slow grin made its way across his face and he turned back to the Sandaime, saluting and shouting, "All right! This will be awesome! I get to kick around a bunch of high level ninjas! They'll soon know the wrath of Uzumaki Naruto! And Team…"

Blanking out slightly, Naruto turned around and looked at his teammates. "Hey, what's our team name now?"

"I believed it only a matter of time until you decided to ask," replied Shino in a soft voice. "I have already designed a name suitable to our team. Would you care to hear it?"

Grinning, Naruto gave Shino a thumbs-up. "All ears!"

"Yuushain."

Everyone turned to look at Shino, surprise on their faces. "Yuushain," repeated Naruto questioningly. "Why Yuushain?"

"Seemed rather fitting, I thought. If it is not to your liking, I can certainly come up with something else."

"No," the blond replied softly. "I think it's a great name. All right, so, Team Yuushain."

Kakashi cleared his throat softly, and looked at the Hokage with a serious expression. "All right. Since that's settled, we'll be moving out as soon as our weapon and food supplies are sufficient. By your leave, Hokage-sama."

He, along with all the other ninja present, bowed to Sarutobi and slowly walked out of the room.

---

Makyou Hyou Shou – Demonic Ice Mirrors
Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu – Water Clone Technique
Kage Bunshin no Jutsu – Shadow Clone Technique
Yuushain – Brave/Heroic Employees

First completion: 10/30/2008 4:18:29 PM

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Tell me how you like it. Comments, complaints...whichever, and whatever.