Author's Rambling: I'll keep the rambling part short as I have two reviews to reply to. This is the start of a new arc, blah blah, and all that nonsense. Now to the fun part, the replies to reviews of people without contact information.

To Darak

To be completely honest I gave the village council more power than they had in the cannon. Think of it this way, Konoha is the type of village to have political loopholes in place to legally depose tyrants without bringing up too much of a fuss. Also, it's the only scenario that makes actual sense as to why Naruto lived a crappy life when someone could have taken care of him... the only other political entity in Konoha fought against it. Also, Sarutobi has returned for a second term, is tired of the job and is getting old. You really can't expect him to keep up with drastically more aggressive people... until he snaps, something that was sure to come sooner or later(that or dying... I personally prefer the first one). And we all know that while Danzo is a highly skilled manipulative bastard (yes, I concede that he is a misguided patriot, but seriously...), Sarutobi is equally skilled, and even if he failed to get Naruto a good life, you can be sure that the least he would do was ensure that he was safe. In short, there are limits to what he can or can't do without bringing about civil war.... though like I said, once riled up, it's a completely different matter.

Also, there's the fine and utterly unpleasant point of being judged by those who set you up, and while Naruto is important to Sarutobi, he doesn't have much worth to the rest of the village, unless his lineage is revealed, and you can bet that Minato didn't just have enemies outside of Konoha. Also, do you really think the presence of an ANBU was accidental? Or how his death would have affected the situation? And if you read the letter in the next chapter, you might have noticed the other reason. I rest my case there

To Kazekira (and to all others who are considering Naruto's skills, there's a good description here... though this group really should ignore the insults as they are completely aimed at the flamer... I have to have some fun, no? :P)

As my first flamer on this story allow me to politely greet you by telling you to f*ck off. I'd list a number of other insults but that would be dropping to your level. So I'll just settle with the fact that you didn't have the proverbial b*lls to leave behind any means of contact.

One, in cannon even with limited teaching, Naruto still learned something during his time in the academy. In this story, Naruto massed complex knowledge of chemistry(to the level of producing high-grade explosives, deadly acid or even synthetic, mineral poison), woodworking, metalworking, puppetry, human anatomy, basic field medicine, politics, history, human psychology, herbalism, he possesses a level of chakra control he only reached after his training trip, if not superior to it, and equal chakra capacity. Not to mention all that nasty unpredictability, adaptivity and unstoppable determination that he retains along with a trained intellect capable of applying any of his skills, and enough wit not to charge like an idiot into any situation as well as to keep his emotions mostly under check.

So tell me again,where is your point? Both Kakashi and Itachi had an entire damn system behind them, supporting them as much as humanly possible. Itachi had the Sharingan, which helped him intensely. And all Naruto had was sorely limited aid from Iruka and his books. And he still held up against a fully trained ANBU for a while AS AN ACADEMY STUDENT. Which he, by official rankings, still is

Finally Kakashi got his promotion on the battlefield. If you have half a brain, you'll figure out that the states of WAR and PEACE work somewhat differently on the promotion situation and on personal improvement.

So do tell dear mentally limited fellow, just how is Naruto pathetic?

-*-*-*-*-*-

To Dan

The first part I admit you have a damn good point, they could have simply stowed away aboard a ship. Well, live and learn...

I will only repeat a part of what I stated above, so just read that part. Naruto is quite powerful but he lacks experience that others have... he hasn't had the need to work under pressure of combat before and he's still adapting. Apart from fighting the ANBU in Konoha, and whatever sparring matches he had, he hasn't had a single long fight, as he relied mostly on blitzkrieg assassination tactics (AKA kill them before they get a chance to react properly AKA acting like a real ninja).

Though honestly, I didn't make much of a deal about his kills. So what if it takes him a while to get desensitized about it? It were only his second to third (or was it fourth? Can't seem to remember now) kills. Ever heard of the book 'Crime and Punishment'? Killing, even for someone trained for it, is by no means an easy thing, especially the first (or by some aspects of psychology, second ) time. And he's handling it pretty much just fine. So where's the issue?

Ranks don't mean much except as a reference. I point out the knowledge they gather, not a bragging point. In theory, Naruto can kill anyone, but say, a jounin with two decades of experience behind him isn't as likely to fall for the same tactic as a wet-behind-the-ears genin, you know? Like I said, ranks are general reference rather than set-in-stone levels of power

And speaking of ranks... Naruto is either a) an academy student or b) a civilian. Put that into accounting :D

Of course it wasn't surprising that genin and chunin level ninja were raiding merchants... any ninja of higher level would get a better paying job :D

Oh, and it's likely that Naruto won't hold any rank for a while yet. He doesn't officially work for any village, so....

Regardless, I appreciate the fact that you took the time to write a serious review of my work, even if you didn't have an account (not really a bad thing, just inconvenient for me :P) to send a reply to.

On a side note, I hope the story was at least enjoyable (otherwise I really don't know why you kept reading.)

-*-*-*-*-*-

To all the doubters about his skills, you're about to see him fight for real for the first time since him leaving Konoha. And yes, that means all of his skills, pitted against an enemy far stronger than him.

Seriously people, why do you think he is weak just because I point out that there are people stronger than he is?

Naruto will be revealing the first stages of a new power very soon, maybe even in this chapter. However, I intend to make very little reference to it, so keep your eyes open! Cookies for those who figure it out! (well, as soon as I figure how to mail them :P)

Well, maybe not everything immediately in this chapter, but show a bit of patience :D

As a side note, I absolutely felt the need to put at least one crazy ship captain into my work. Call me insane for it if you want to :P

Chapter 8: Chaos Among Waves

There was no mist on the open sea today. Even with the disturbing frequency at which it gathered around every piece of land the view was as clear as it was possible through the torrential rain that had begun falling. Screw early finished missions, they'd be lucky if they even got there in one piece, though Naruto didn't share that opinion, as his faith in the captain grew with eery passing minute. After all, any man capable of sailing this wreck into a storm, without a sliver of fear was worthy of respect... and the ship hasn't even shown signs of being strained!

The captain barked orders to his subordinates, not in the least affected by the wind and rain as he kept perfect balance on the shifting deck. Yugao was having slight trouble keeping her lunch in, while Haku and Naruto were relatively calm. Relatively, because they were gripping whatever fixture they could for dear life.

"Mezuro! Ask the captain how much longer till we get out of this storm!" Yugao shouted to Naruto, who,being the closest one, forwarded the question. The captain looked at them strangely, as if asking why they were complaining about a little wind and rain.

"Hah! An hour at best." the captain shouted back, returning his focus to steering the ship.

Naruto merely smirked, tightening his hold against the woodwork of the ship, while watching his two companions and the storm around them. He found the foul weather to be surprisingly thrilling. If he had the slightest idea what to do, he'd gladly run out and help the crew keep the ship afloat.

The journey continued ,unabated by the weather, and indeed, within the hour, the small port was in sight. It was still raining, though the wind and thunder had mostly stopped. The ship docked gently, a true testament to the skill of it's navigator and captain, and the gangplank that was quickly extended prepared the ship for the short exchange of goods that would follow.

"Captain, thank you for the fine journey" Naruto spoke in a very respectful voice, offering a slight bow to the grizzled old captain.

"Bah, it's nothin' brat. I was glad to have you kids aboard" he responded, cheerfully laughing as the crew loaded the few crates. "Take good care of them ladies though... and try not to get yourself killed!" he added the last part jovially as he boarded the ship, casting off soon after, and leaving the trio of ninja standing on the abandoned peer.

The small village they just visited was mostly built above the water, on wooden rafters lodged into the stony cliff that surrounded most of the village, apart from a narrow, winding path that lead to the clifftop some ten meters above. It was a defensible position, though it was obvious that the village survived only thanks to the frequent trade and fishing. If there were people currently present, they were either asleep or within their homes. After all, who wanted to stay outside in the horrid weather?

"What's our next move?" Haku asked curiously

"Tenre?" Naruto added

"The village we're supposed to liberate is the next one to the southwest, at about a kilometer from here if the maps are accurate. " she spoke, raising a hand to cover her eyes from the rain. 'But we can't navigate in this weather... and it wouldn't be a good idea to take shelter here... it would draw attention to us'

"Why don't we just go there now?" Haku asked, slightly confused

"We can't navigate that well while the storm lasts..." Naruto trailed off, slightly annoyed at the fact."And it's much harder to keep on the surface on choppy water."

"I could freeze us a path... and my sensei taught me how to navigate using currents..." Haku trailed off when she saw the surprise on their faces "... you never saw a map of currents before, have you?" both shook their heads in the negative.

Looking around, she moved to the nearest cover, and with a sigh, she pulled up the sleeve of her battle robe, revealing a set of tattoos on her right arm. Gently tracing the strange symbols, she stopped on one, letting a single drop of blood fall onto it, and then sending her chakra to unseal what seemed to be a map. Naruto glanced at the paper curiously, glad that the small piece of roofing above them kept it all dry. He raised his hand channeling just a bit of chakra to form a orb of light. It was a simple, D-rank non-elemental ninjutsu, but most people rarely used it. It was too visible for covert ops, after all.

The map was strange to their eyes, to say the least. The land was there, wide blots of gray among the blue that represented the sea. However, it was the blue part that drew his attention. Carefully charted with lines varying by color from black to white to represent temperature was a highly accurate display of the currents of Water country. While he didn't know it, this piece of paper easily had the worth of a small castle.

"Myself and sensei liberated this map a few years ago. It's highly accurate. But more importantly, it allows perfect navigation by merely using a few simple tricks to follow the currents." Haku explained in a hushed voice, making sure that the map remained unseen. She, unlike the other two had a very good idea just how much the map was valuable... if those slavers knew she had it, they would have gladly killed her for it.

"Since we are here" Naruto pointed at the island he was pretty sure they were on "we just follow this current to our destination, right?" he tried, feeling happy when he received a nod in answer.

"Well? What are we waiting for?" Yugao asked, captured by the growing enthusiasm around her. She liked the slightly younger girl that had joined them. Haku was surprisingly lively, and Naruto opened up to her much easier than she expected

"Right, the sooner we leave this doom and gloom place the better" Naruto shrugged as he turned around, to the surprise of both girls, in the perfectly right direction and started walking towards water, the hood of his vest covering the dyed black hair.

The two kunoichi followed him silently to the edge of the water, where he crouched down, silently descending onto the surface.

"So, how does this work?" Naruto asked, curious to learn a new trick. Haku jumped down, landing noiselessly on the water next to him, while Yugao followed Naruto's example. Haku had trained her water affinity as close to perfection as humanly possible.

"You 'feel' the currents by use of water chakra manipulation. I can't really teach it to you, it would take days.. but I can act as a guide" Haku explained "Just follow me"

And so they left the small, nameless hamlet, proceeding to the southeast, and to their primary target, Teardrop island.

The reason the island got it's name was simple... it was shaped like a drop of water, and whoever was giving names at the time was feeling poetic. The settlement, a densely packed fishing and mining village, by the name of Kotara was the only form of civilization apart from the small, but somewhat rich iron mine.

While they had a friend of sorts there, meeting up with him wasn't really an option. It didn't take open discussion to decide that striking under the cover of night (and preferably rain) was the best option to deal quickly and efficiently with the mercenaries, retaining the advantage of surprise. Naruto tended to abuse that wherever and whenever he could... after all, he had absolutely no qualms about slipping someone a kunai between the ribs if it got the job done and kept his team out of unnecessary danger.

So, the group slipped by under cover of rain. It was hard to tell time due to the general darkness around them, but Naruto liberally assumed it to be around dusk. They had left Habuse at noon, traveled for several hours to the small port, and a few more to here. He wasn't surprised that the village hadn't changed much... after all, they had last been here less than a month ago. Unlike some of the others, this one had no walls or even palisades to protect it, relying in turn on it's narrow streets and stone building walls to provide some measure of cover. From the cobbled streets to the wooden rooftops, the two dozen or so houses were enough to hide more than a small number of mercenaries, and that gave them an advantage.

Even from a safe distance, they could spot figures walking around with torches... guards that were patrolling. They had no idea on numbers, equipment or strength of their enemy. Stealthily slinking into the surrounding woods, the team of three chose a good observation point on a small hill overlooking the village.

"Mezuro, Haku, we break up, scout out and gather back here in thirty minutes. I'll take middle, Haku to the right and Mezuro to the left. Get whatever information you can. Numbers, locations, equipment and anything on their boss." Yugao shortly ordered, assuming command for the time being

---With Haku---

The group had broken up quickly and quietly, and Haku proceeded with her part of the job. The actual western part of town was her destination. Silently moving along the undergrowth of the forest, using every possible bit as cover, she once more mentally patted herself on the back for picking a dark colored battle robes, one that was far better suited for sneaking around than the previous ones she had owned.

Quickly crossing the small break between the forest and the nearest house, she soundlessly leaped onto the roof, nearly lying down to hide herself. On the other side of the small house were two guards... it didn't take any special skills to notice them, considering that they were talking rather loudly. On the small plaza beyond, she noticed three more, and idly noted the dark figure of what was most likely Tenre on one of the roofs ahead of her. Mezuro was nowhere in sight.

With her normally very visible red clothes, she was surprised that her female friend was nearly completely invisible in the night. She hadn't really been able to make a fair judgment of the level of skill the two she worked with possessed. Tenre, she could divine a bit. She knew the older girl had an edge over her in both skill and experience, and that sword she carried was by all means lethal. She couldn't pick out any ninjutsu or genjutsu, but her apparent tracking and tactical skills were top notch. Mezuro was a nightmare to place. He never showed much, and in the few days she was there, he was mostly stuck inside his workshop doing god knows what. She had noticed small signs of sealwork, something with which she wasn't overly familiar with (she had paid an expert a tidy sum to create those storage tattoos on her arm), but that was about it

Haku placed herself somewhere around a low ranking jounin in power and skill, but comparatively to her... she had next to no idea where the two were on that scale, but she had a sinking feeling that they were ahead of her. Both the confidence and general ease at which they operated told her as much.

But she had noticed the beginning of trends among them. Mezuro was confident in his skills, or very aware of them more likely. He didn't like overextending himself and didn't like going in blind, if the twitches she saw at several times were any indication. Tenre was in some aspects his opposite, being far more relaxed with working blind and adapting, though whether this was a mater of preference or experience was yet to be seen

She silenced her rampant thoughts. This was no time to be wondering. Reminding herself of the ten guards she had noticed so far... no, eleven, there was one in the bathroom of the house she had just left, she moved on. The mission wouldn't accomplish itself. She was just about to turn around and return to the meeting point when she heard the start of what promised to be a very enlightening conversation

--With Yugao--

Silently darting between buildings, Yugao did her part of the job with great efficiency. She had counted five men in her sector, all of them lightly armed thugs with a sword at best, and clubs at worst. However, what annoyed her were the hostages being kept. In two houses, she had noted a number of children, along with four guards each... most likely used as insurance that the villagers wouldn't rebel... if she had to guess, they were most likely forced to work in the mines, if the small numbers present meant anything. This job wouldn't be as easy as it first appeared, and worse still, she hadn't located the high-profile target. If the bastard was in the mines along with the populace, they were royally screwed.

Letting go of her predictions for now, she focused on the task ahead. There was still about a half of her sector to check, Haku was nearing the end of hers, and Naruto... to her shock, Naruto was done already. Since when was he so fast?

--With Naruto--

The black haired teen stood silently at the eastern end of the village, recounting all that he had seen so far. Ten guards, each armed with different weapons, but mostly low-grade trash. Their only real advantage were numbers, something that they likely used to bully the people of the village into submission. It just made things more complicated.

His thoughts went to thinking up a suitable plan as he sneaked back to the clearing. A two-pronged assault, one group attacking the mines, while the other hit the town was the only real option that would avoid the loss of civilian life, something that was generally frowned upon. After all, why bother hiring ninjas if conventional mercenaries (who are also cheaper) would get the job done?

It was an annoyance, one he cared little for, and would likely get them killed unless they were careful. And worse still, the main threat was not present.

Thinking things out, he found that he was most likely the best choice for an attack on the mines, as he could hide and sneak about the easiest. Yugao had complimented him several times on that... if he wanted he trulycould become invisible to all but the finest trackers. Civilians, even veteran killers, had nothing on him. Only a ninja stood much of a chance at figuring him out

Smiling at the basis of a plan that would work, he settled down at the clearing,closing his eyes and letting his other senses overtake his focus. There were things no amount of training could improve, and making one's eyes see in the dark without some sort of jutsu or drug was impossible.

He shut off the pointless train of thought as he heard the fainest of footsteps. His slightly enhanced hearing barely managed to pick them up.'Likely Haku... I can't pick out Yugao at all'

Still, trained paranoia dictated his actions, and he opened his eyes immediately, his left hand twitching to let slip a kunai from the holster on his wrist. However, he dropped the guard soon, as he felt the temperature around him drop ever so slightly as the girl closed in. No mistake about it, it was Haku.

Seconds later, a third figure approached, making intentional noises just loud enough for the two of them to hear...Yugao.

(20:00, Eastern Fire Country, border with Wave Country)

Five figures made camp near the shoreline, the small campsite being well concealed into the thick woods. There was a small fire going, and the five men gathered around it. The metal plates with the stylized carving of a leaf revealed easily who four out of the five were. Konoha shinobi.

Tazuna, the master bridge builder of Wave country tiredly eyed the four that were sent to escort him. The smallest of the four, had identified himself as Shino Aburame. The kid had short black hair, and that was all he could tell about him, since most of him was covered by his ankle-long gray, high-collared trenchcoat, and a pair of opaque, black shades covered his eyes. The boy was eerily silent the entire journey, and the only signs that he wasn't some sort of zombie was the fact that he wold occasionally share silent looks with his two teammates and sensei, along with some sort of beetle that would land on his finger.

The second, was a tall, wiry youth by the name of Shikamaru Nara. He had only slightly longer hair, all of it tied up into a pineapple shaped tail. Unlike Shino, he seemed a bit more open, though he hardly seemed normal as well. He was dressed lightly, in a pair of long, black cargo pants and a mesh shirt covering the fishnet beneath it.

Probably the scariest of the three was Chouji Akimichi. Standing easily taller and larger than the other two, the 'chubby' ninja (if anyone actually had the guts to call him that) was a sigh that would bring fear. Dressed in his family's traditional red scale armor, with a long brownish mane of hair held back by his hitai-ate, along with a massive naginata that was effortlessly carried around on his back. Still, out of the three of them, he was the most communicative, and didn't stay silent, or mutter about things being troublesome. In fact, he found a rather interesting common subject of cooking with the boy.

The team leader, Asuma Sarutobi was by no means a slouch himself. The unusually large man was mostly quiet, though he would occasionally strike up a conversation with either Shikamaru or Chouji, or even one-sided conversations with Shino, though he had the distinct impression that the quiet boy was responding in some way that he couldn't figure out..

"Tazuna-san, how bad is the situation in Wave?" Asuma asked seriously, shortly pulling the cigar from his mouth.

"Very bad. Right now, the only thing stopping Gato from completely crushing the country is my son-in-law, Kaiza. And it's only a question of time before Gato sends his men to kill him off." Tazuna responded "We're losing food supplies, medicine is already gone, and Gato keeps bringing in mercenaries from the Water country civil war" he trailed off.

"You're outnumbered and outclassed." Shikamaru added his two cents"Out of curiosity, how did you manage to field enough money for a B-rank?"

Tazuna sighed silently as he considered how to answer the boy's question. Truth was, it was their last hope. He would have preferred to call in help from Kirigakure, but that village was of the maps until the war ended, so they were forced to turn to a slightly more expensive alternative... Konoha. Everyone gathered whatever money or jewelry they could, whatever wasn't already taken by the thugs. He was somewhat disappointed to get what seemed a fresh genin team, but when those genin effortlessly took out a pair of what were supposed to be superior ninja within seconds, he understood just why the kids got the job.

The others present understood some part of that sigh, mostly as a statement of 'do not ask', while the obvious sadness told everything else. It was a last-ditch attempt.

Shikamaru sighed himself. A long time had passed since Naruto vanished from Konoha. He still remembered when the Hokage himself paid a visit to him, Chouji and Shino a few days after they sparred. They were training in the Akimichi clan grounds, as academy students weren't allowed to use official training fields, and the small clearing they had used wasn't really an option. They hadn't seen Naruto around in a while, but that happened occasionally, as the blond immersed himself into his studies, always coming back with a new surprise. The time before he pulled out the puppet in front of them, it was the henge, a full year before they were supposed to learn it.

However, what Hiruzen Sarutobi stated that day had killed a part of him. He had, having already summoned their parents there as well, bluntly stated that the Council of Konoha, under the guidance of one Danzo Shimura effectively framed Naruto Uzumaki of treason, and that as a last option against permanently destroying his life, he was forced to go into self-imposed exile. And yes, that he said he was sorry.

The weight of what the aged Hokage had stated, and the murderous look in his eyes were more than enough to persuade him that he wasn't the one responsible, so he couldn't in good mind hold much anger against him, so it turned to those who were. How could he, with all his intellect ever believe the rulers of his home again if that was what they did to people who were completely loyal to them? Sure, Naruto was eccentric at times, but he was a damn good kid, the kind any parent would be proud to have as a soon. Choza Akimichi had stated so himself several times, and both of his close friends, Inoichi Yamanaka and Shikaku Nara were of similar minds.

They had changed since then. The normally lighthearted Chouji took to his clan's combat training with gusto, and by the time they had finished the academy, neither of his two friends stood a chance against him in pure melee combat. But the price for that was that the boy had built a shell around himself, and the only ones who ever saw him out of it were his family and close friends.

Shino had become almost completely silent, much like some of the older members of his clan. His beetles and kukri spoke for him when it was needed. But still, he never alienated his friends, and apart from the occasional odd word, he silently communicated with them, mostly through subtle gestures they learned how to figure out..

He on the other hand hadn't visibly changed at all, and the paired spools of ninja wire hanging off of his belt were the one of the few signs of his improved skills. The other was his vastly improved physique. Ever since he and the others had joined Naruto in training, it had stopped being 'troublesome' for him,and he had to admit that he now enjoyed pushing himself to his limits from time to time

However, those were just the surface changes. Inside the three of them had lost something. Perhaps it was the final knowledge that even if they truly were loyal, they could still be declared traitors just because it was convenient for someone, perhaps it was the fact that they were now even more aware that they would be outside risking their lives while politicians who had either been off the battlefield too long or were never there in the first place gambled with them.

He quietly mused that perhaps they lost their innocence that day. An ironic chuckle escaped at the thought as he made himself comfortable against the tree. His was the first watch, and it would do him no good to simply fall asleep while it lasted.

A part of him still wondered what Naruto was doing, and if he was even still alive. And another of what would have happened if he hadn't left.

Of all the group, Asuma was the only one who just couldn't fall asleep. The chain-smoking jounin was glad to have gotten the team. After all, Shikamaru, Chouji and Shino were a full team even before they left the academy by graduating early. They would have likely stayed there for another year his father, Hiruzen not decided to offer them a chance at being a team. He wasn't really sure what the old man was smoking when he said that, but he quickly realized just how much of a team the three were. When he was briefed on the fact that Naruto Uzumaki was the driving force behind their leaps in improvement, he could only chuckle. It wasn't much of a mirthful chuckle, more an ironic, tired one. For the strongest of the shinobi villages, Konoha made mistakes far, far too often.

He also remembered the evening after Naruto's exile. It was never made public, but a number of people went missing in the following days. Of course, it didn't help the case that all those in charge were the ones that made the missing. There was of course that old relic, Danzo, but ever since Hiruzen snapped, the old war-hawk was not only out of room to maneuver, but apparently ROOT decided he was no longer fitting to lead, and shifted command to a new person, his identity known only to the hokage himself.

'Well, I might as well join Shikamaru on watch if I can't sleep. Maybe play a game of Shogi or two...'

(21:00, Teardrop Island, Village of Kotara)

"Are we in agreement?" Naruto quietly asked as they went over the last details of their plan, preparing to finally split up, and agreeing on such things as id codes and such. Things like those couldn't be left for once the plan was in action.

"Hai"came the simultaneous response from the two girls, both ready to do their part.

"Okay, we met in an hour on top of the tavern there" Naruto finally added, before he broke off to the mines, his target for the night. His breathing had quickened, coming in short, strong breaths. He could feel the tension of each and every one of his muscles, the clothes and tape that moved against them, the two kunai in his arms, covered in a strong and quickly acting paralyzing agent.

Under the dark cover of his hood, the face of Uzumaki Naruto settled into an emotionless mask as the boy silently moved, a black shadow against the dark ground as he leaned very close to the ground.

At the mines, only a single guard was watching the entrance, so Naruto did what he did best. He waited for the man to make an opening, then silently swung in from above, immediately hiding behind some crates. He waited for a few moments until the guard turned around before rushing onwards into the dark, twisting corridors of the iron mine. As long as a general alarm wasn't raised, he was free to knock out or kill anyone he came across.

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Yugao stepped up to the home silently, noting Haku's presence on the other side. There were three men inside the building, all grouped together into one room, playing cards. The poor light made it easy to sneak up close and personal, but the situation demanded that they be taken out at the same time, and silently.

Yugao prepared herself, and threw a small pebble near where she knew Haku was. As soon as it hit, she moved, heading straight through the open window with an arsenal of kunai in her hands, letting all eight of them loose at her targets. At the same time, a number of ice senbon pierced critical points along their bodies. Before they even noticed that they were attacked, the three thugs were nothing more than corpses. Yugao and Haku even managed to hit them so that they wouldn't cause much of a noise.

Quickly recovering her kunai, both ladies made a quick exit, chalking up the numbers on the casualty lists. Three down, twenty two more to go

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The guard in front of him was overseeing the loading area. Naruto noted that the majority of the workers were there. Quietly stalking up to the man, he placed his handover his mouth as he slit his throat, quietly setting up a shadow clone to impersonate him. He didn't want to risk placing more such clones, because they could easily get discovered, but people at critical places had to be covered, at least until he had free reign of the area.

Leaning down, he continued past the cavern, and into the area he guessed that the leader of the bunch, Kamizo Numari was at. There were four more guards inside to take care of, and the final one at the entrance. Hands silently moved into a handseal, and three clones formed out of the shadows around him, three equally silent figures that moved out to kill or disable their targets, whatever produced less noise.

'Try and ambush him, don't let him trap you... as if that was even possible' he mentally ranted as he moved on, quietly taking down two more guards with a quick blow to the neck. The office was just there, a small lean-to, where the mine foreman probably worked before the thugs descended on this place.

The overall plan of the mines was a simple one, two large chambers connected to each other and to the outside by long corridors. The first chamber was a large cavern, where the vein of ore was closest to surface, while the second one contained the foreman's office and some supplies.

The seemingly hastily erected lean-to was probably the only construction here apart for the numerous support pillars. The man relaxing on the sole chair there was looking over some papers, all the while playing with the dagger in his hands. Naruto quickly recognized the person from the picture. His target.

Naruto silently cursed as he realized that he had stepped on a tripwire... and that his target wasn't nearly as unprepared as he had believed.

"Hello ninja-san" came the chillingly cheerful voice as the figure on the chair turned around, a strange, long wavy dagger in his right arm, the blade coated green with poison "Can I interest you in a little game?"

Naruto once more cursed as he noticed another details, previously concealed by his position...ninja tools

Naruto remained silent, knowing well that if the man was prepared for intrusion, he also likely had several traps set around... and right now, he had to be very careful.

And then there were the tools. Usually, even the most accomplished criminals would have little expertise with using objects such as smoke pellets, flash bombs, shuriken and many others, and he spotted the first two there already. The record had mentioned use of traps and daggers, and he was pretty sure that poison was listed somewhere around there. Poison was a nasty little thing, and he didn't want to find out if Kyuubi's chakra was able to heal him up from something lethal.

The seemingly insane man kept laughing as he rose from his chair, the plans momentarily forgotten as he spotted a new victim.

"Why don't I make this a bit more comfortable, hm?" he continued, a finger twitching shortly. Naruto barely had the chance to move away as a dozen blades fell from the cave roof, but not before Naruto had sent a single kunai back at him. Kamizo effortlessly dodged the blade, all the while pulling another invisible string.

In seconds, the fight had escalated into a storm of flying, poisoned blades from both sides, as Kamizo kept springing traps and throwing his own stash of weapons, while Naruto quickly ran out, and was forced to use those from the traps. But still, for a non-shinobi, Naruto found the man to be very challenging. Had he the time, he would have laughed at the irony of him thinking that.

But he didn't, and this fight had to be over fast, as the clones had already begun evacuating the people inside past the dead or unconscious guards... and he didn't want to find out if the man had a taste for explosives as well.

Silently cursing the fact that he didn't take the precaution of pulling out his two puppets, he resigned himself to work with the resources he had. He would once more have to adapt and overcome.

Kamizo stared the hooded boy down with unmasked interest. After all, it wasn't every day that his well-set defenses pick up a boy trying to sneak by so expertly. Any of the oafs he was forced to work with were easy to detect, but this had been literally a shadow. Had he not used spider-silk to make a tripwire along several choice routes, he never would have known he was coming. Kamizo Numari was neither a fool nor a madman, but a cold, calculated man who merely liked to put off his enemies by laughing in the face of their deaths. This one was not in that group, and he was sure that if he wasn't careful, all the years of hiding the skills he possessed would be for nothing.

However, he was anything but ready when he saw over a hundred of his poisoned blades, carefully prepared over weeks and months, and sealed with his very limited knowledge of chakra (after all, if ninjas used sealing scrolls, what stopped more experienced criminals from doing so?) rapidly rise into the air, as if held by invisible hands, before they, as one plunged into his body.

Naruto sighed tiredly as he watched the man's corpse fall down to the hard earth, impaling itself on several blades already there. The place had been turned into a battleground, an had he not taken the precaution of removing the civilians beforehand, there would have been deaths, and he really wasn't in the mood to consider the possibility of his own. As he got up his hand gently brushed the uneven surface of the rock, and he idly wondered just why was there such a deep gash against it's surface. Letting the thought slide, he walked over to the man, knelt down, and quickly cut off his head before sealing it up. A little extra cash never hurt anyone.

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Yugao smirked victoriously as she watched Naruto arrive followed by most of the village populace some half an hour after they had cleared up the mess in the town. She could have sworn she had seen a blush of embarrassment on his face from all the positive attention he was getting. The poor brat wasn't used to it, and now she had yet another excuse to tease him.

The town was cleaned up of all the trash, the corpses piled up and burning downwind, while the surviving thugs were all comfortably tied up, and already interrogated. Oh, the juicy bits of intel they had gleaned from their ravings before they knocked them out. Looks like their plans might just have moved forward a bit...

Author's notes: A bit shorter than usual... though the writer's block was annoying as hell. Well, this has been the last of the slow chapters for a while. To those who have comments on the thoughts of the new team under Asuma's command, keep in mind that those are their thoughts, and limited by their knowledge of the situation. As sympathetic as Sarutobi is, he isn't a fool, and Asuma's knowledge is only a bit over the average.

Also, since college is starting to take more and more time yet again, I don't know how often I'll be able to update, but the next update will most likely be A Demon Among Reapers, followed by Spellbound and finally Determination.

Well, I won't bother you any more. Till next update, read and review folks