Here's the next chapter of Narutoverse no Jutsu! I'm a little bit disappointed about the number of reviews...I mean, what happened? I got around 7 to 9 reviews in the last few chapters and then it drops down to 5...Is it because I'm dragging out with annoying mission too long? Eh...oh well. I can't very well FORCE anyone to review or anything, so I'll make due with thanking everyone who did this time around! I LOVE YOU ALL in an "I'm grateful for you" way. Not the "MARRY ME PLEASE" way. Yeah. Okay. Here's the chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

When Surudoi described Marieke's condition, Midori couldn't have gotten up faster. She soon found herself instantly speeding through the woods with an unconscious Kyoko on her back. After getting directions from the small hawk, she had instructed him to find Naruto and Nami and lead them to Marieke as well.

By this time, night had already turned into the early hours of the morning. The sky showed hints of light beyond the horizon and the stars were starting to fade from sight. The air was still bristling cold, however, and only the combined heat of both of Midori and Kyoko's bodies was keeping Midori slightly warm. But Midori wasn't Wonder Woman and Kyoko wasn't the lightest person in the world, not to mention she was inches taller than Midori which made it even more difficult to run. The Hikari girl wouldn't be able to hold up her teammate and continue moving for long. Though, it looked like she wouldn't have to.

"Sensei! Marieke-sensei!" Midori called to her teacher, quickening her pace. When she reached the older woman who was laying face-down and unconscious, Midori set Kyoko down and started searching her sensei of any wounds. As soon as she surveyed the damage, she started restoring flesh and tissue. It was true that this mission popped up right after Midori had left the hospital, and it wasn't like Shizune had been able to show her every single technique a medic used in one night, but she had been taught the basics, and closing average wounds and stopping the bleeding was about as much as she could do at the moment.

"Midori! Hey!"

At the sound of Nami's voice, Midori glanced up, the green light of chakra reflecting off her eyes. "Nami, Naruto-kun, you guys are fast."

"Thanks to who?" Surudoi huffed.

"To you, Surudoi-san. All thanks to you," Midori said tiredly.

"Thank you!" Surudoi bowed and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Whoa…Sensei's in really bad shape…" Nami said, a tint of worry in her voice. "Who do you think did this to her?"

"Judging by her feverish look…I'd say Itachi," Midori reasoned. "She looks like Kyoko…but Kyoko's much worse. I guess she didn't have enough experience to take on the Mangekyou Sharingan; it had more of an affect on her."

"Mangekyou Sharingan?" Naruto said, a confused expression forming on his face. "What?"

"We'll explain later," Nami said hastily. "Anyway, we've gotta get away from here as far as possible. I don't know how long it'll take those two to find us, so it's best that we get a move on."

"Right," Midori nodded. "Naruto-kun, how much chakra would you say you have left?"

"Not much," Naruto admitted. "I used a lot of it up for all those kage bunshin…"

"I'm pretty drained too," Midori said, immediately looking introspective. "And you obviously don't have any chakra either, Nami…This isn't good…"

"We're just gonna have to travel without chakra!" Naruto declared.

"How're we supposed to do that?" Nami questioned. "Without your kage bunshin, it'll be tough to even try to lift Marieke-sensei and Kyoko let alone run with them!"

"We can do it! Just help me out with your sensei and Midori-chan can carry Kyoko! By the time we get back to Nemuru and the cargo carriages, we'll be okay!"

"We've got nothing to lose I guess," Midori sighed as she lifted Kyoko onto her back again.

"Yeah, yeah," Nami said, taking Marieke's back and shoulders while Naruto grabbed her legs. "Let's go then."

As the group started trekking back out of the woods, the sky was now mostly painted a light blue running into pinks and oranges, signaling the sun's rise. Now there were absolutely no stars, and the cold air was starting to get warmer. The grass was dotted with still dew that was rearranged by running steps that soon brought them into the open field, the carts and delivery men in view. Even though everyone conscious knew that their group had all gotten out of the woods alive, there was still the chance that the Akatsuki could pop up at any moment, angry enough to finish them off without a second thought.

"Get the horses ready!" Midori called, in the lead. "We're leaving now!"

Over the while that their ninja escorts had left, Nemuru and the other men had had enough time to calm down from the attack, and so had the horses. Most of the animals were uninjured, and none were dead which was sort of relieving. Bu the fact that some of them were injured meant that they'd either have to go slower or leave the injured behind.

Nemuru wasn't happy. "You're shinobi, right? Don't you have anything that'll heal my horses?"

"Not broken legs," Midori said. "I'm sorry, Nemuru-san, but we'll have to leave them behind." She didn't add that she wanted to save her little remaining chakra for something more important. "I'm sure no one will harm your horses if they're out here, and I sent for some ninja in Konoha, so when they come, they'll probably bring them."

Nemuru was hesitant, but he figured his life was worth more than worrying over horses that would return eventually, so as soon as he was safe in one of the carriages, they were off.

"You sure did a number on this field, Midori-chan," Naruto remarked as he looked out at the scenery. He, along with Nami and Midori, were sitting atop one of the larger carts to look out for any enemies that would potentially attack.

Midori didn't hear his comment, however. She was too busy sleeping, resting her head against a tarp-covered box.

"Eh? She's asleep?"

"She's got the right idea," Nami yawned. "I think I did use a lot of chakra borrowed from her, and she also had to heal Marieke-sensei and Kyoko. Don't forget she also healed us too with the rest of her chakra. I don't think she's ever used that crystal of hers that much before."

"If she can just draw chakra from that crystal, how come she had so little chakra?"

"She explained to me once that she can only receive a certain amount depending on how much chakra she has left to spare," Nami shrugged, leaning back against a box. "It also depends on her will, but doing it so much tires her out. Think of it as the ending result of a soldier pill. You just get so tired it won't do any good anymore." She yawned again. "It might've been a good thing Kyoko was unconscious at the time, cuz I don't think Midori would've been able to handle both of us taking up her chakra."

"Oh…I see."

"How'd Kyoko do, by the way? When she was battling with you?"

"Oh. She was great," Naruto said, wondering why Nami would ask a question like that. "You should know, right? What, does she train in secret?"

"She trains by herself a lot," Nami admitted. "She never really uses the moves she does in battle for training, that's for sure. Maybe once or twice…"

"That's kind of weird."

"Yeah, isn't it? She's also been getting injured a lot lately," Nami added, looking distant. "Like when she gets home, she's always cut up. Midori gets annoyed with having to heal her all the time, even if she does say its practice for medical stuff."

"What about you, neechan?"

"Me?" Nami's mouth contorted into a sly smile. "I'm not gonna tell you my training secrets."

"Aw, come on…"

"No can do, Otouto. If I did, I'd have to kill ya."

"That's so cheesy."

"Maybe," Nami shrugged.

Naruto reached into his pocket and revealed the average-looking scroll known as the Scroll of a Thousand Jutsu. "I wonder if this thing's really worth it…"

"It should be," Nami said. "If I were Nemuru, I would hand it over to Konoha because of all the trouble I've caused. This was supposed to be C-Ranked. C-Ranked missions don't have Akatsuki."

"Yeah…Hey, wait!" Naruto seemed to realize that he had forgotten something. "How do you know about this 'Akatsuki' and Itachi and the fish guy?"

"Oh…well…um…"

"Don't tell me you have inside information or something!" Naruto said. "Nobody ever tells genin anything, so how is it you guys know so much?"

Nami took a deep breath. "Naruto, can you keep a secret?"

So Nami told Naruto everything. She told him she and her friends had come from a different world, how they had gotten Iruka to help them out in the beginning, how they knew all about the Chuunin Exams and how to pass them, how they knew everyone from the Konoha 12 to the Sand Siblings, how they knew that Sasuke would leave—

"You knew Sasuke would leave?" Naruto said quietly. "You knew what would happen…And you didn't warn us?!"

"We didn't want to mess up anything, you understand, right?"

"No, no I don't!" Naruto's voice hinted anger, but that wasn't what made Nami wince. It was the betrayed sound in his tone that made her regret she had told him.

"Naruto—"

"You could've warned us and we could've stopped him earlier!" Naruto raged. "Sasuke would be here right now! We could've saved him from Orochimaru! I—" he stopped abruptly, his face a look of sudden realization, then annoyance. "That's a sick joke, Nami."

"What?"

"I know you're joking. You just wanted to get me pissed, that's all. There's no way you could've known everything you say you do," Naruto said, relaxing. "That's cruel, Nami. Real cruel." He crossed his arms and sighed the way adults would when they were thinking 'I can't believe you, you silly girl.'

One of the things that Nami hated most was not being believed, especially if she was actually telling the truth. Before she knew what she was saying, she blurted, "I'm not lying! It's true! You should know that if I was lying it wouldn't be as stupid as this! It'd actually be believable!"

"Yeah right. So you're saying that unbelievable things are actually true?"

"Usually!"

Naruto laughed.

Nami narrowed her eyes challengingly. He really was acting like everything she said was a joke. "Fine then! I'll prove that I'm not lying. Go on, ask me anything that you think I don't know about this world!"

"What kind of question is that? 'This world'? What?"

"Just ask me a question about the village or something! Do it!" she ordered.

"Okay, okay!" Naruto stroked his chin thoughtfully and finally came up with a question. "When's my birthday?"

Nami raised an eyebrow.

"Don't know it, do ya? No one does…" Naruto deflated.

"No, I'm just surprised that that's your question," Nami said as she crossed her arms. "Your birthday's October 10."

"Eh…Iruka-sensei must've told you!" Naruto said stubbornly. "That one was too easy! Here's another one…"

Naruto continuously asked Nami questions about the village, the citizens, and himself. He was shocked every time she answered right, but always asked her another right away. Soon he was beginning to believe her crazy story of being able to see the future or whatever she had meant.

After numerous questions, he finally decided to ask her a question that he was sure she wouldn't know unless she really was from a different universe that knew everything about his world. "Why did the villagers hate me while I was growing up?"

Nami was hesitant about her answer. Why was Naruto asking her a question on such a touchy subject? The reason why the hated him? She wasn't expecting that, but of course, she knew the answer. "Because…You contain the Nine-Tailed Fox demon that terrorized Konoha village twelve years ago."

"…That's right," Naruto said, eyes wide. "You…You are from a different world."

"See? I told you I wasn't lying."

"So then…why didn't you tell us about Sasuke?"

"I told you already, we didn't want to mess up the plot."

"…Is that the same thing as fate?" Naruto said, confused.

"Uh…yeah, sort of. From what I know, Sasuke was fated to leave Konoha either way," Nami said slowly. Unfortunately, she realized she sounded like a bitter Neji. "Never mind. It's hard to explain. But when you're fifteen, you're gonna become strong."

"Strong enough to bring Sasuke back?"

"Maybe."

Silence followed the last word. Both of them needed time to think, that was certain. While Naruto thought of how he'd be able to get stronger, Nami wondered if it was wise to let Naruto know the big secret. She was only adding to the list of people who knew the secret already, and Naruto could only keep his mouth shut for so long. She was sure that Naruto wouldn't tell everyone…that is…he may tell Sakura. Then again, he hadn't really told anyone of harboring the Kyuubi within him, so maybe it was okay to trust him. After all, he was her Otouto, whether he agreed or not, which she figured he did.

And besides, Nami thought. Midori told Neji and Naruto's a lot nicer than him

That was right. If Midori ever started lecturing her about telling Naruto the secret, she'd sick that one on her. It was the perfect comeback that would put the girl who had always been the victor of arguments into a state of speechlessness. Neji knew, so why couldn't Naruto?

Then she realized something. Exactly how many people knew the secret?

There was Iruka, then Marieke, Orochimaru and at least one of his cronies (AKA Kabuto), Neji, and then Naruto. Nami was pretty sure those were the only people who knew…the only people she knew of anyway. Who knows how many people actually knew of Team 12's secret? Whoever they were, at least they were courteous enough to keep their mouths shut.

---

"Shizune! Send any team of elites available after the group that had gone to Kiba no Kuni, now!" Tsunade ordered.

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune nodded and ran out of the room.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes vigilantly as she tightened her grip on the paper she had just received. It was in sloppy scrawl, as if the person had been in a hurry to write and send it.

Konoha – Urgent. Back-up needed. Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame from Akatsuki attacking. – Hikari Midori, Team 12

Suddenly, Shizune appeared at the door again. "Tsunade-sama, most of the elites are already away on missions!"

Tsunade cursed under her breath. "Then send the elites that are still here! I'll prepare a second group of skilled others! Move it!"

From Midori's note, it was now obvious to Tsunade that what Marieke had told her was true. And now there was an attack from Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame on a C-Ranked mission? Things just kept getting better and better.

If the girls were really from a different world, what would happen if they were to die? Tsunade didn't want to think of the consequences. Whatever it was, undoubtedly no good could come of it.

The Godaime Hokage had sent the back-up team on the first team's trail quite some time ago, and they should be catching up to the first team soon. She had chosen a mixture of the most advanced lesser-ranked ninja she could think of, but one thing tugged at her mind constantly. What if this would be a repeat of the retrieval mission of Uchiha Sasuke? Once again, she was forced to chance failure.

---

Hours seemed to pass slowly as the carriages bustled along their way. Nami had offered to keep lookout and Naruto agreed, quickly falling asleep afterwards. She was tempted to draw on his face, and when she finally found a marker, she sensed people coming in close behind them.

Nami turned her attention to the figures running after the carriage and took out several projectiles. Her chakra had not yet recovered, but she was still a pretty fair shot. Before they could get any closer into view, Nami chucked the weapons at them which proved to be useless considering they had their own to deflect the weapons.

She was about to fling another round at the group when she heard a familiar voice.

"HEY! KNOCK THAT OFF! IT'S US!"

"Huh…? Sakura?!"

A few minutes later and Nami was staring at the three people sitting in front of her who happened to be, of all people, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Shino. "So what's up with you guys showing up anyway?"

"Stop acting like you didn't want us to come," Shikamaru sighed. "But I know I didn't want to."

"I thought Midori sent for elites, though," Nami said. "We've got Uchiha Itachi on our hands."

"Uchiha?" Sakura gasped.

"Yeah," Nami nodded. "So why'd Tsunade-sama send you guys?"

"She also sent a small team of jounin and one ANBU member along," Shikamaru explained. "They're keeping themselves hidden, but following us as we speak. If the enemies were lurking around, they'd be able to catch them before they get to us."

"I get it." When she finished the sentence, Nami yawned openly.

"You should get some rest, Nami," Sakura advised. "We'll take up lookout from here."

"Yeah, okay," Nami said. "Nothing will probably gonna happen anyway." So she made herself as comfortable as possible within the many loads of boxes and bags and nodded off.

The ride was bumpy, and it was no surprise Midori woke up easily when the cart went over a particularly large bump. She ended up banging her head against one of the lower boxes when the haul jumped, forcing her out of her sleeping position. Rubbing her forehead, Midori noticed the presence of more Konoha nin.

"We are the team you sent for," Shino said when he saw her confused expression.

"…Oh…"

"There's more, if you're wondering," Shikamaru said. "Some jounin…an ANBU."

"Oh."

"Since you're awake, Midori, could you tell us about the enemies?" Sakura asked.

"I wouldn't be able to tell you much," Midori replied seriously. "I wasn't the one who confronted them."

"Then who did?"

"Marieke-sensei and Kyoko fought Itachi, each one-on-one," Midori explained. "Now they're both unconscious, just like your sensei was."

Sakura was silent for a moment. "Like…Kakashi-sensei…"

Midori nodded. "And Nami and Naruto-kun fought both Itachi and Kisame, but they retreated, which was wise. If you were to ask my opinion, none of us would be able to stand a winning's chance against those men."

"I see," Sakura muttered.

"Hey, what exactly are we guarding anyway?" Shikamaru questioned, knocking on one of the boxes.

"Um…I wouldn't know," Midori lied.

"Lying to cover embarrassment is not something one should practice often," Shino said intelligently.

Midori shot Shino a glare inwardly, but smiled sheepishly. "I'd rather not talk about it, that's all."

Shikamaru and Sakura exchanged confused glances, but said nothing to press the subject. Instead, Sakura asked, "So do you think there's anything I could do about Kyoko and Marieke-sensei?"

Midori shook her head. "I doubt it unless Hokage-sama taught you how to repel the effect of Mangekyou Sharingan."

Before Sakura could answer, Shino abruptly stood up and looked out into the distance mysteriously. "There are people coming." His gaze was followed by the other three and the air grew tense.

"It's them," Midori gasped. "Itachi and Kisame."

Okay guys...I'll be honest...I have no idea where I'm going with this. Okay, scratch that. I have KIND of an idea of where I'm going with this. I know how I want this to end up...but I don't have a clear picture of how I'm gonna get there. I'll figure something out, but...yeah...I don't know why I decided to announce this pointless thing anyway. You know those days...where you feel like your...half dead...or something...Blah.

Next time I'll probably be more cheerful...then again...It'll probably depend on the reviews. And life.

Thanks for reading!

R&R please!

-HM