-Set at the beginning of Shippuden, Naruto comes back from training, only to find that Sakura has to leave on a mission of her own. In need of a team, he gets stuck with Hinata and Sai. How will this affect the whole series? And will Naruto ever love Hinata?

Yay! A new chapter! I hope this chapter is better than the rest of my chapters so far. I wouldn't want to disappoint you guys and such. Thank you for the reviews so far, and please enjoy!

Episode Four

~His Irritation, Her First Kill, Hinata's Influence~

This was not a good place to be out at night, all alone. Unfortunately for the young girl currently walking through the tradesmen's district, it was the middle of the night—and she was very much alone.

She walked with the slightly mincing step of a noble and carried a delicate folded-up fan. Jeweled rings encrusted her fingers. Her soft indoor tabi slippers were unsuited to running or fighting.

The man in black was glad. Fighting he could handle. But when they ran, that was just annoying. He glanced down at his young prey, checking to make sure that he had identified the target correctly. Yes, there it was: the distinct form of the Wind Daimyo's symbol. This was the Wind Daimyo's girl.

The girl seemed blithely oblivious to the fine gold thread on her clothes and the effect it would likely have on the residents of such an area.

This job is going to be easier than I imagined, the man in black thought.

He leaped, almost casually, to the next rooftop. He landed without a sound and ran, his lithe body crouching low to avoid detection. The next rooftop was too far to reach in one bound, but he simply somersaulted to the ground, rolled, then jumped nimbly to grab the overhanging eave. He let himself hand there for a split second, enjoying the feel of gravity pulling at his body, then flipped onto the tiles.

A cat that had been sleeping there stood up in an exaggerated arch of irritation and was about to hiss when the ninja raised a blowpipe to his lips. He cat collapsed softly and rolled down the sloping roof. Before it could fall of the edge and hit the ground below, the ninja stretched languorously and pinned it corpse to the bark tile with a dagger. For some reason, he could hear the slight barking of a young dog, but he ignored it.

The ninja moved from rooftop to rooftop until he was in front of the girl. He waited for the right moment, his entire body perfectly still. When the girl passed below him, he jumped, absorbing the impact of the ground with a smooth bend of the legs that turned almost instantly into a vicious kick to the girl's face.

The girl staggered back, and the ninja grinned, pressing his advantage with a flurry of kicks before reaching for his short-sword.

As the ninja's hand moved to his belt, he lowered his eyes for a fraction of a second, and it was then that something smash into his face, crushing his nose and sending a tsunami of pain and nausea through his body. Through blurred vision, he saw the girl pull back her hand and realized the fan was not a fan at all—it was a heavy metal bar disguised as an everyday object, a classic ninja trick.

But how…?

The girl struck again with the bar, and the ninja easily blocked, feeling a new surge of confidence as he finally managed to free his sword and swing it in a n upward arc, calculated to shatter the jaw and cut the arteries in the neck and—

The girl somehow turned out of the sword's path, bringing the fan-turned-club down on the ninja's wrist. The man felt his wrist shatter and the sword drop to the ground just as a fistful of sharp jewels destroyed his left eye.

Not rings but a knuckle-duster.

His legs gave way, and he sank to the ground. But it wasn't over. It was never over. He would heal, in time. Not his eye of course, but the rest…

Then the girl stood over him and drew a kunai from her kimono, the blade so sharp it shimmered as if surrounded by heat. She whirled it around her fingers expertly, strands of her rosette hair danced in the wind.

And then the Oto-nin knew that it was over.

"Tell Orochimaru that if he continues to send me assassins, I will continue to send him corpses," she said. "Let him set his whole arsenal of ninja against me, and I will kill his army. And tell him if he wants to kill me then he better send the Uchiha next time, not some weakling of an ordinary ninja. That boy owes me a death." And a damn good explanation…

The ninja looked up at her, faint hope in his one working eye. "You're allowing me to live?"

". . . Ah… My mistake."

The ninja tried to smile.

Then she struck, hard and true, at his heart. "I'll just have to tell Orochimaru myself." The rosette-haired kunoichi looked down at the corpse of the first man she had ever killed by herself. A single tear rolled down her cheek.

Yes, this was not a good place to be out at night, all alone. Especially if you were a ninja.

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

It had been at least a week since Sakura had left, and Naruto had made some shocking realizations during those seven days. First, he noticed how different Hinata and Sakura were. Sakura had been fiery, spoke out more, and was easily angered. Hinata, though . . . she was quieter, and she didn't seem to mind his antics. That was something he learned to like, though sometimes he would secretly miss the punches Sakura used to throw his way.

Secondly, Hinata had improved since the last time he had saw her. Not only did he find it hard to find a weak spot in her jutsu, but it was also hard to just dodge them. She had also gotten quicker in the years that had come. Plus, her chakra control was just as good as Sakura's. And as such, Tsunade had started to train her in medical jutsu in which she had excelled in. Third, she actually enjoyed going to eat ramen with him. Unlike Sakura who had worried about her bank account, Hinata was actually the one to offer to help him pay his ramen debts much to the knucklehead's surprise. And she didn't make him use table manners whenever he ate, also unlike Sakura.

Speaking of the cherry blossom, the other things Naruto had learned was that Sakura was actually very much worried for his well-being. In every one of her letters, she had expressed her worry more than giving him a new ramen flavor to try. Of course, he'd write back to her and say that he was just fine, but she'd write back and say that she'd had seen him fall into a ditch or even dump his head against a pole (with that present Hinata had given her)! Then Naruto would always have to write back some sort of excuse of those accidents of his. Hinata would offer to be the excuse, but Sakura's letters still came back with their usual amount of worry in them especially since he needed to find a jonin and another teammate to accompany him to Tenchi Bridge in the days to come.

Up until then, Naruto had forgotten about needing a team. He had thought just Hinata was enough. She seemed strong enough, and she wouldn't let anything hurt him. However, when Sakura read that in his letters, Naruto could see the anger and annoyance in her words in her letter that came afterwards. She even gave him a time limit! If he couldn't find at least one new member to join his team by the end of the month, she'd write to Tsunade to have him pulled off of the mission.

Naruto knew she wouldn't do that, but the threat was just enough. He immediately started searching for a teammate, but no luck came his way. Most of Konoha 11 were already on missions of their own, and some of them actually had their own appointments to attend to. The jonin, on the other hand, were either busy with the chunin exams or they were patrolling the borders for the Akatsuki. The next couple of weeks didn't do him any good either, though Hinata had treated him to much more ramen than ever before since he was so down. But he wasn't down just because he couldn't find a teammate; Sakura had told him that she was going to be a bit too busy to write to him for the next few days, and so he didn't have her letters to look forward to anymore.

He spent more time with the Hyuga heiress during that time. From morning 'til lunch, it was non-stop training. Then they shared a lunch Hinata herself had made. At first, Naruto had missed Sakura's cooking from when they were in their genin team, but Hinata's cooking had a more appealing taste to it, and so his longing desire for Sakura's cooking had slowly disappeared. However, he still did not like the fact that Hinata had put more and more vegetables in her cooking (as was what Sakura had asked once in a letter to the Hyuga). For some reason, he couldn't help but think that Sakura was actually trying to torture him even if she wasn't in the village!

But after he'd stuff himself with Hinata's cooking, they'd go on a little walk, and sometimes they even helped some of the pedestrians whenever they needed help. And when they were commented on how nice they looked as a couple, Hinata would turn a bright shade of red that Naruto was now used to seeing while he would deny the fact. Dinner would soon come and was, of course, at Ichiraku's. Then afterwards, they'd train a little more at night to help improve their senses in the dark.

However, once Sakura's letters came again, Naruto slowly grew more depressed as he was unable to find anyone to join the team. Even with Sakura's words of encouragement and Hinata buying him ramen, Naruto was unable to cheer up.

Days quickly turned into another week. Then another week added up into another couple of weeks. By now, he only had three more weeks until the mission, and he still hadn't made any progress with finding a teammate. But luckily for him, during the middle of that fifth week, he was able to catch up to Shikamaru who had been oh-so busy with the chunin exams. However, Shikamaru's answer was the same as everyone else's.

"Like I said, it's troublesome, but I have to sort stuff out for the exams." he had said. "I know we have a sort of friendship thing, and I'd like to help you out and all, but there's just no way I can do what I want either. It's the Hokage… You'd think I get enough nagging from her…" He shook his head in annoyance.

"In that case, I'll give you a hand." Those words were like music to Naruto's ears as ramen was to his mouth.

"Alright! Thanks, Choji!" Naruto could have bowed to the chubby man. He had just got him his ticket out of the village!

"Choji, are you sure you can say that so easily?" Shikamaru asked. "Don't you have a mission with Asuma-sensei and Ino?"

"Come on, we can't just ignore Naruto's request," Choji said. "I'll try to talk to Asuma-sensei about it."

"Thanks a lot, Choji!" Naruto yelled, giving the guy a thumbs-up.

"But even if you ask Asuma-sensei about it, he'll still say no." Shikamaru explained. "He has Lady Tsunade standing over him, after all…"

Naruto chuckled as Choji reached into his potato chip bag. "Still always eating… You're an even bigger fat-ass than you were before!"

In a small second, Choji's fist was flying straight for Naruto's face. Thankfully, Shikamaru tackled Naruto to the ground before the idiot got a black eye. But in reality, Choji's real target had been this . . . this thing that looked like one of those lions that were in old Japanese paintings. When Choji's fist smashed into it, the lion exploded into drops of . . . paint?

Shikamaru let out a sigh but, when he looked up, there was another one. But that lion met the same fate as the first one did when Choji's hand expanded and crushed it.

Shikamaru's eyes raced through the surrounding area, trying to find the attacker. "Over there…" He pointed to this stranger on some rooftop.

"He's wearing a Konoha headband," Naruto said, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the stranger. "But I've never seen him before!"

"I have no idea what he's doing, but that guy needs to be captured!" Shikamaru said. "And handed over to the interrogation squad!"

Suddenly, that guy took out another scroll and started drawing.

"Naruto, go!" Shikamaru knew they had to act quickly. "I'll cover for you!"

And Naruto charged at the guy.

The stranger made a hand sign. "Ninja Art: Super Beasts Scroll!" And this time, not just two lions came out of his scroll but a total of six appeared, shocking Naruto enough that the knucklehead stopped in his tracks.

As the lions came at him, Naruto quickly made the hand signs for the shadow clone jutsu, but Shikamaru had already finished his jutsu.

"Naruto, get down!" he said as his shadow raced towards the lions, splitting into six separate threads. They pulled themselves out of the ground, and they each stabbed a lion through the place where the heart was supposed to be.

Then once that was over, Naruto charged again at the stranger, a kunai in his hand. But the stranger saw this and took out his short sword and blocked Naruto's attack.

"Who the Hell are you?" Naruto's question came out in a snarl.

"You're fairly weak…" the stranger said with a smile. "So . . . what do you have in between your legs?"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Unacceptable!" Tsunade slammed her fist down on the table.

"Tsunade, Naruto is no ordinary child." the male Elder, Homura, said. "He is a jinchūriki! Normally, we should not allow him to leave the village and keep him under constant supervision. I assure you, we are truly making concessions."

"I am in favor of a four-man team, but such restrictions should not be placed on Naruto!" Tsunade argued. "Even if Naruto remains in Konoha, the Akatsuki will pursue him. Just like what had occurred in Suna. If that were to happen, Konoha will also be placed in danger. If Naruto is on the move, they will be more hard-pressed trying to find him. Naruto has always had a special ability. He will grow to become a great power for Konoha."

"You are being flippant, Tsunade." Koharu, the female Elder, spoke. "Speak like a Hokage."

Tsunade slammed her hand down on the table again. "I am also making concessions here!"

"Then can you truly guarantee that Naruto will not be taken by the Akatsuki?" Homura asked. "If the Akatsuki manage to take the Kyuubi from him, they will become an even greater threat to Konoha! Can you guarantee that this will not happen?"

"Naruto will not be taken!" Tsunade answered firmly. "I believe in that!"

"And if that belief is mistaken," Koharu asked, "what will you do?"

"If that places Konoha and the Fire Country in danger, I will put my life on the line to save it!" Tsunade answered. "As Godaime Hokage!"

Homura let out an exasperated sigh. "Understood… Do what you want if you are that convinced… However, we will choose a member to add to that four-man squad."

"Fine."

"Danzo," Koharu called out to the person in the hall, "You may come in."

And when the old man came in, Tsunade couldn't help but glare at him.

"Omae wa…!"

"It's been a while, Tsunade-hime." the man said.

"If you're here then that means the new member is from the Root division of the ANBU…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"I said, 'WHO ARE YOU?'" Naruto yelled. This time, he was able to throw the stranger off guard, making him lose his balance.

"We'll meet again, Naruto-kun." the stranger said, jumping into the air. He made a hand signal.

"Wait!"

But it was too late. The stranger had disappeared!

"What was that?" Shikamaru asked.

But before they could get an answer, Ino came looking for Choji. "There you are! For crying out loud! Asuma-sensei's angry that you still haven't shown up!"

"Sorry, Ino." Choji apologized. "Some weird guy just started attack us."

"Weird guy?" Ino asked, squinting her eyes, trying to find that person. "Hey, is that Naruto? What the Hell was he doing attacking you?"

"Anoo… The weird guy's not Naruto…" Choji said.

"It's fine now, Choji." Shikamaru said, massaging his temple. "Damn, this is troublesome…"

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Since Hatake Kakashi will still be recuperating during his team's next mission, another member is needed." Shizune explained to the Elders, much to her dismay. "And there is not much time before the mission."

"Well then," Danzo said, "a leader should be elected from the elite ANBU under the Hokage's control."

"Indeed, that should be fine," Koharu nodded her head. "I'm sure, Tsunade, that you don't have any objections, no?"

"Fine…" First, they take Sakura from me; now, they want to control Naruto, too? This is a bit too much…

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"And that's how it is," Tsunade explained to the ANBU in front of her. "You will take Kakashi's place in this mission."

"To take Kakashi-sempai's place, that is indeed an honor." the ANBU said.

"This is not an ANBU mission. It is a regular mission." Tsunade explained. "You will remove your mask and be assigned a code-name. For the duration of this mission, you will take on the name of 'Yamato,' understood?"

"I understand," the ANBU said, taking of his mask.

"There is one more person, however." Tsunade started, "One of the members of the ANBU training department Root has been assigned to Team Kakashi. I want you to keep an eye on his movements."

"What do you mean?"

"The new member is one that Danzo recommended," Tsunade explained. "Danzo is a man who had previously opposed the Third Hokage, emphasizing the use of military power over diplomacy. He created a separate division in the ANBU, the training division Root, with himself as leader. You must have heard of it. The group has disbanded, and he lost his position, but he still hasn't changed. He must have some ulterior motive."

"Are you sure you're not over-thinking this?"

"Yes… He did, after all, send my apprentice on a suicide mission." She clenched her fists, and her knuckles turned white. I won't forgive him… That bastard!

✿｡.:**:.｡✿

"Hiya!" the stranger waved to the knucklehead, almost as if he had forgotten the fact that he had been attacking said blonde.

"Omae wa…!" Naruto was ready to punch the guy's lights out, much to Hinata's confusion.

"Anoo… From now on, I'll be taking Kakshi's place as leader." Yamato explained, trying to lighten up the mood. But it would appear that Naruto was focused on glaring a hole through the stranger's head.

"Anoo . . . Na-Naruto-kun, do you know this person?" Hinata asked.

"Sorry about that before," the stranger said, that smile still plastered onto his face. "I just wanted to gauge the ability of my new teammate. I just didn't know how much I had to look after the little prick with no balls."

"What did you say?" Naruto would've thrown a rasengan at the guy's face if Hinata wasn't blocking his way.

"C-calm down, Naruto-kun!" the Hyuga pleaded. "He's . . . he's to be our teammate, after all…"—she turned to the guy—"But . . . you're not that nice," she said.

He laughed. "Oh, really? I like people like you, busty stuttering freak."

"YOU WHAT?"

For some reason, Naruto was even harder to restrain now.

"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT TO HINATA-CHAN?"

Now, it took both Hinata and Yamato to hold the jinchuriki back. Oh, how would the team survive a day togetyer?

✿｡.:*Once everyone calmed down*:.｡✿

"Anyway," Yamato started, "the four of us are going off on a mission. But looking at you all, I'd rather throw you all in a cage but, since there's no time to do that, introduce yourselves."

"Uzumaki Naruto…" He glared at the stranger.

"Hyu . . . Hyuga Hinata…" She worried about her teammates' well-being.

"Sai." He just smiled throughout everything.

"Well, now that we know each other, that's the end of that. I'll explain our mission." Yamato said. "From here, the four of us will proceed to Tenchi Bridge. There, we will intercept the spy Akatsuki has in Orochimaru's organization and bring them back. This is a chance for us to find out about Orochimaru and Uchiha Sasuke. We can gain a valuable source of information which may lead to formulating a plan to assasinate Orochimaru and take Sasuke back, so keep focused! We will assemble at the front gate in one hour! After sorting our equipment, we will depart!"

Godaime Hokage = Fifth Hokage

Hime = princess

Omae wa = you are (to a guy; it's almost a ruder way of addressing someone)

Sempai/senpai = [used to address or refer to one's senior colleagues in a school, company, sports club, or any other group]

Yay, I'm finished with this chapter! Thank you for reading it! Oh, and before I forget, that beginning part is based on the prologue to Nick Lake's Blood Ninja. If you're into vampires and ninjas, you should check it out.

But anyway, thank you and please review! Oh, and give me some ideas of what you want to see!