Author's Note: As the series goes on, my fic becomes more inaccurate. I hope you guys will bear with me.

So glad so many of you have faith in Naruto and Hinata's love. I used to have that faith, and I still kind of do, but well… when you're a pessimist, you get more pleasant surprises. I think Sakura and Naruto will get together because of something Yamato said in the manga… after Naruto comes out of 4-tails mode, he says "It's not what you can do for Naruto that's important… it's how strongly you feel about him that counts… Sakura… I can tell just by looking at you… the truth is–" and then he gets cut off in an extremely annoying move by Kishimoto that is just so him (much like refusing to call the 4th Hokage by his name in Kakashi Gaiden). I think that implies Sakura has the hots for Naruto. But enough blather. Onto the best couple in the series!

Disclaimer: Nope.

Chapter Nineteen: Honorless

"Damn it," thought Sasuke, bursting what he thought must have been the fiftieth balloon he'd burst that day. He'd soared past the first two steps of the Rasengan with startling ease, needing only one balloon and one ball to get past them. This last step was killing him. Sasuke recalled the Kakashi's story about when Jiraiya had taught Naruto the technique. "What am I doing wrong?"

He couldn't understand… aside from Sakura, he had the greatest chakra control in his class. He was doing essentially what Naruto had: combining the first two steps, trying time after time through the night… hell, he was even plowing through with the tenacious fervor. "Damn it," he thought again, picking up another balloon.

"Can't lick it, eh?" said a familiar voice.

"Kakashi?" asked Sasuke, turning to see his teammate holding his usual book. "What are you doing here?"

"Look at you, so tired and stressed that you didn't even notice me. I wasn't even masking my presence with chakra." He closed his book. "But, as to your question, I'm here to do what any good sensei does: teach." Sasuke remained silent. "So, you can't figure out the Rasengan."

"That's not it," said Sasuke, a bit annoyed at the man before him. "I understand how to do it… and according to what you told me about you and Naruto did to learn it, I should be fine."

"Is that so?" said Kakashi, taking a balloon in hand. "Well then, let's do an evaluation of you and me. The criteria for this technique are good chakra control and force. You and I are about equal in those aspects, so obviously your skill is not the answer. This technique was developed by the Fourth Hokage himself, a man who also created Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Technique), a technique which requires complete concentration to perform. Now, you and I have both mastered Chidori, a technique that, even with the Sharingan, requires immense concentration. But another thing –"

"Get to the point!" snarled Sasuke.

"I was just about to. Another thing the Fourth Hokage had was a usually calm, if goofy demeanor when not on the battlefield. To master the Rasengan, he had to keep that same demeanor." The sounds of chaotic chakra swirling came from the balloon, but it did not pop. "I believe I have a similar quality, wouldn't you say?"

Sasuke became frustrated. "That doesn't fit. Naruto's never like that and he managed to do it when he was twelve."

"Ah," replied Kakashi, holding up his index finger. "I thought you might catch on to that. Naruto has, as you said a while ago, the chakra control of a rock. His zeal, combined with his incredible chakra supply, allowed him to breach that gap. However, as the Rasengan is all about balance, you can't under or overdo it. Luckily, once you learn it, it's like riding a bike."

"Why would a ninja ride a bike?"

"No clue. But the point is this: look at the state you're in." He stopped forming the Rasengan and threw Sasuke the empty balloon. "Take a deep breath and try it again."

Closing his eyes, Sasuke did as he was told. As he exhaled, he could feel the stress and frustration leaving him. Then he began the technique in one hand, smiled at how simple it had been, and formed the sphere in his opposite hand.

"There," said Kakashi. "Easy, right?"

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah… but what's the point of learning this technique? It's not like it's stronger than my Chidori."

"The point was twofold," answered Kakashi. "First, seeing as this is purely physical manipulation and you're of the illustrious Uchiha clan…" He emphasized "illustrious," as though patronizing him ever so slightly, something missed by Sasuke. "You should eventually be able to make whatever the 'Katon: Rasengan (Fire Release: Spiraling Sphere)' is. Second, the only way you will become strong enough to fight, compete with, support, or whatever you want to do alongside your friends is to have a clear head."

"I see…"

Turning to leave, Kakashi added, "And by the way… you might want to practice a bit with the ninjatou of Nidaime. It's not like just anyone can use it. There are special seals of protection inside the sheath."

Turning towards the sword that he'd left leaning on a tree, Sasuke walked over and picked it up. Grasping the hilt to unsheathe it, he was hit with a sudden burst of force and repelled from the blade. "What…?"

"Take a look at what it says on the scabbard."

He lifted it up to the moonlight and read the inscription: "Let he who wields fire for the fire wield it."

"What could it mean…?" he muttered, examining the cryptic message.

"Well, that's why you're the genius, isn't it? See you around," said Kakashi, and he leapt away from the confused Sasuke.

Sasuke ran his fingers over the sheath. Though very obviously metal, when he touched it, it felt as though he were placing his hand just upon the edge of the water; Sasuke thought it must be a reflection of Second's prowess over Suiton. An idea struck him. Hovering his hand over the hilt once more, he thought, "I am ready to give my life for the leaf." He attempted to grasp the hilt and for a moment it seemed he had succeeded. However, after a few seconds, his hand was repelled once more. "Damn it," he thought, looking over the inscription. He'd sure that had been it; he had gotten closer.

With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and began to think. "Kakashi. Naruto. Sakura… Sakura." He focused on her beautiful smile and lovely emerald eyes. He focused on her voice, her laugh, and everything about her that made him love her. Calmly, he reached to grasp the hilt, stopping short of actually touching it. Again, he thought, "I am ready to give my life for the leaf," gripped the hilt tightly and, to his relief, found no resistance.

Glad at his success, he removed the sword from the sheath. Immediately, the blade ignited, becoming engulfed in a cyclone of flame. Sasuke's first instinct was to throw the sword down, to fire a Suiton (Water release) technique at it, and yet… the fire's heat did not reach him. No matter how closely he swung it, the fire did not catch on his clothing. Sasuke was amazed. But before he could further test his weapon, he felt a severe fatigue overtake him. He dropped the blade; the fire ceased.

"The sword saps chakra like crazy, causing the body to compensate by making more chakra. But if I'm correct, that means eventually my body will adjust to it and… I'll become stronger!" he thought excitedly, and picked up the sword again. The blade blazed; the tornado of flame rose from the hilt once more. Doing his best to overcome the chakra depletion, he began performing a few simple kata that Orochimaru had taught him. "With this," he thought, swinging the sword to and fro, "I can become strong enough. I know it."

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Naruto sat in the study of his house, looking over heavily detailed maps of surrounding enemy areas. "Let's see," he muttered, examining a map of areas surrounding the Grass village, "If we enter here, then we can… no, that's not right. But what if…? No. That won't work. Ah! I know, I'll-"

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata stepped into the room carrying two cups. "I've got some tea, if you want."

"Lifesaver, as usual," he said, grinning as he took his cup. After a few sips, he asked, "So, has Sakura-chan sorted you into a team yet?"

She nodded. "I'm in a group with Shikamaru-kun, Lee-kun, and Kurenai-sensei."

"Kurenai-sensai?" repeated Naruto, eyebrow raised, "Doesn't she have a kid to take care of?"

"Yes, but… Iruka-sensei volunteered to help look after the child."

"Iruka-sensei… that definitely sounds like him."

A sudden pounding came from the front door. "Naruto! Hinata!" called Kiba's distinct voice coupled with Akamaru's barks, "Open up! It's urgent!"

The couple rushed to the stairs and Naruto nearly tore open the door. "What is it, Kiba?"

Kiba was panting heavily. "Our… our nearby lookout post. It's been attacked. Twenty of our men are dead."

Naruto's eyes widened. "How…" he asked blankly.

"They knew we knew about their battle plans and struck preemptively. It was those Mist Village bastards. They're all insane, I swear."

Naruto wasn't listening. "Kiba. I want you to take me to the battlefield, get a scent, and lead me to them."

Kiba gave a skeptical look. "You're not planning to fight them alone, are you?"

Naruto clenched his fist. "This is a direct order from your general! Now take me to them at once!"

"… Alright," Kiba said, knowing it was futile to argue. Calling to Akamaru, the two led Naruto and Hinata to the site of the slaughter.

It was truly horrific. Mangled bodies, some missing multiple limbs, some with organs clearly visible, were strewn all across the outpost. Naruto stared in shock at the scene before him. He could recognize several of the faces; these were men and women he knew, soldiers he had been talking with just the day before. It seemed almost unreal that they were gone, but the truth was painfully apparent.

"Naruto-kun…" Hinata said gently, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Hinata-chan," he said quietly, though his balled fists were shaking. "Please… see if – " he breathed deeply, steadying his hands. " – If there are any survivors." Hinata nodded and began searching with her Byakugan. Naruto picked up a Mist forehead protector, very nearly shoved it up Kiba's nose, and asked, "This should do for the scent, right? Let's go."

Reluctantly, Kiba began running toward the direction of the scent, Naruto trailing only a step or so behind. "You know," said Kiba as they ran, "The scent's so strong, you could've just used one of Kakashi-sensei's Ninken."

"No," replied Naruto, his voice monotone. "I want no mistakes here. You're the best."

"Thanks."

"I wasn't flattering you," added Naruto, still emotionless. "It's just how it is."

They traveled on, never slowing down or pausing to rest. Soon, they were a mere fifty feet from their destination, what looked like a small crater with around forty men crowded into it, chatting away.

"Okay, here's what I think we should do," said Kiba. "I think we –"

Naruto cut across him, saying, "You'll go home and wait for me to get back."

"You're crazy!" Kiba spat, trying his best not to shout so as not to compromise their position.

"Crazy?" Naruto began walking towards the crater. "Maybe so. But you have your orders. Return to Konoha. Keep Hinata-chan company."

Kiba sighed. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Yeah."

"Then go to it. Good luck," Kiba added, and began running back towards the village.

Naruto was virtually silent walking to the crater. He'd masked his presence using the technique Kakashi had taught him so many years ago. Finally, he was close enough to hear what the Mist ninja were saying.

"Man, those Leafies weren't expecting shit!" one of them was saying.

"Yeah, I know. I don't think I'll ever forget that bitch's look of surprise," another replied, and then made a face mocking the Konoha's expression.

"Betcha won't forget that gash she gave you either, eh?" the first said, laughing.

"Shut up!" the other yelled indignantly, "She – I thought she was dead! Little bitch – She tricked me!"

"Well, she's dead now! Good riddance, right?" a third said to several cheers and cries of agreements.

At any other time, Naruto would have preferred calling to them with some sort of grand, perhaps clever statement. He might have mocked them, outright insulted them… but now was not any other time. Calmly, he walked to the top of the crater and called, "Hey."

The cheers and cries instantly ceased. All eyes darted toward Naruto. The first Mist ninja pointed and called to the rest, "Hey! It's a Leafy! What are you doing here alone, Leafy? Didn't you get our message? You know, the pile of dead bodies." The rest began cackling cruelly.

"Yeah, I got your message," said Naruto. "I've got a reply for you, too." He placed his fingers into the cross-shaped seal. "Five little words. Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Mass Shadow clone technique)."

There was a silence as the Mist ninja looked around, waiting for something. Just then, at least one hundred Bunshin emerged, standing just at the edge of the crater, each holding a Hiraishin kunai. The original Naruto watched them, forming a rasengan. Silently, he sent the signal to his clones: "Throw."

The clones did as instructed and countless Hiraishin kunai flew through the air and the Mist shinobi frantically tried to dodge and block them. Naruto, however, had never intended to hit any of them, and with great flashes of light, he was teleporting all around the crater, blasting each ninja away with the same Rasengan until all but one were unconscious.

Two Bunshin picked up the last one and held him tightly by his arms. He struggled as Naruto slowly approached, but the Bunshin were unrelenting. "P-please!" he whimpered, "Don't… don't kill me!"

"Don't kill you?" Naruto asked, as he approached and the air seemed to heat intensely even though Naruto's tone remained calm. "You murdered innocent, unsuspecting people, people who were only trying to protect themselves. You didn't even kill them in war. Instead, you murdered them in cold blood."

"M-mercy!"

"Mercy!" Naruto repeated, his voice raising volume the slightest bit. He stepped closer still. "Like you showed mercy for them? Give me one good reason – just one, even, – why I should let you live!"

"I, I just – you, but," the man spluttered on, true fear etched on his face. "Please!" he cried again.

Naruto let his fox features emerge, so that he was staring directly into the man's black eyes with his red ones. "You know, people call me a monster," he snarled, forming a Rasengan in his right fist. "Maybe I am one! Maybe I should just tear you limb from limb right here, right now, along with your other murderous, horrible excuses for human beings!"

The Rasengan hovered so close to the side of the man's face, the torrent of chakra inside the sphere sounded like a terrible cyclone. As tears began to stream down his face, he fainted. Naruto dispersed the clones and relaxed his hand and said, "But I'm not nearly the monster you are."

After a few quick seals, he held out his hands and ropes emerged from them, binding together all the fallen Mist Shinobi. The ropes were immune to the Rope Untying Technique, and so Naruto, with one hundred Bunshin, felt safe in escorting this single-handedly defeated lot.

Uchiha Sasuke, on the other hand, had returned to take a break from practicing with his ninjatou when heard a sudden knocking on his office door. Opening it, he saw a shinobi with a Mist forehead protector and a sergeant's badge whose face appeared to be a bloody pulp, arms bound, held by Naruto, who said, "Hey, Sasuke. I think I found an optometrist."

"An optometrist?" repeated Sasuke, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," said Naruto, a sly grin on his face. "This guy wants to take a look at your eyes."

Returning the grin, Sasuke took hold of the prisoner. "Is that so. Well, I'll just be a minute. Wait out here."

Naruto did, and, true to his word, one minute later, Sasuke emerged with the semiconscious shinobi. "The guy was weak. I didn't even need to use the Mangekyou. I wrote down everything important," he said, and handed Naruto a clipboard and paper. "Here. This should be all you need to bring justice to these bastards."

Naruto thanked Sasuke and was off, eager to show Tsunade his findings.

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"Interesting…" muttered Tsunade, looking over Sasuke's report with Naruto and Shikamaru. "This lists personnel, rank, superiors, and location names. It's perfect."

"Good ol' Sasuke!" said Naruto, folding his arms with a grin.

"What do you think, Shikamaru?" Tsunade asked. He'd remained silent throughout the discussion.

"Well… we can't just send the prisoners back. They far outnumber us, the combined nations, so we need to somehow keep them thinking they struck us a heavy blow and sustained no losses."

A silence permeated the air for a second. Then Naruto said, "Alright, how's this?" He began to draw on the map. "I'll create kage bunshin with several backups, just in case they get dispersed. Then I'll use henge no jutsu (transformation technique) to recreate their looks. After that, we'll send them back to the Mist village and report on a job well done. The Mizukage will think they succeeded."

Another silence. "Alright," said Shikamaru, impressed, "That works."

Tsunade smiled too, and said, "Alright! As soon as the Mist ninja's faces heal enough to discern their looks, execute the plan." With a sigh, she thought, "He really will make a great Hokage."

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A week later, Naruto stood in his mansion, taking a break from perfecting their opponet's looks. He sighed and said to Hinata, his back to her, "Hinata-chan… please, do something, anything to convince me again that life is wonderful… "

She approached him, put her hands on his shoulders, kissed him lightly but languidly on the neck, and said, "I'll do more than that, if you want."

He smiled and, two days later, he was off, traveling with his self-made troops to the Land of Water, where a certain unsuspecting Shadow would be given a false report of a mission that had resulted in success and disaster….

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Well, I'm back from India and the chapter's up. Here it is, hope you had fun! Please, review, as usual!

EDIT: Aha, whoops. Land of Water. Not Waves. Very diligent, there. As for the Rasengan, it doesn't necessarily explode on impact. Examples: Jiraiya drilled through a tree with it and Naruto held it, clashing, against Sasuke's Chidori. If it did explode on impact, Sasuke would have either plowed through the explosion or been thrown back instantly, not after the amount of time it took.