A/N:So. More work (I logged 97 hours in my store last week.) But I have TROLL! It's not what I was intending to work on these last few weeks, but it's what I had the most brainwork for, so here you go. This is the 2nd of 3 planned chapters for the whole "Shippuden Movie 1" mini-arc, the one dealing with Shion... who yes, will have some stuff with Naruto later on. She may or may not (I STILL haven't decided for sure) have a permanent relationship with him, but I have decided he will keep the promise he makes at the end of the movie.

Yes, that promise. If there's any errors, feel free to PM or Review about it, and I'll fix it. Logs in at... just under 8 single spaced pages.

Enjoy!

Chap. 11 The Demon's Gaze

Uzumaki Naruto's first impression of Oni no Kuni was that it didn't deserve it's name. The landscape as they crossed the border was, in a word, beautiful.
While Naruto would forever have a special place in his heart for the gigantic, jutsu-created trees of his homeland, the mild, sub-temperate climate of the small nation (by his standards, it was one of the largest in the immediate vicinity) combined with the jagged mountains and many rivers flowing from the even higher peaks far to the north and northeast where Tsuchi no Kuni, the Land of Earth, lay, created a nearly-pristine, virgin landscape.
He and Kakashi were making good time down into the valley where, according to the Jonin, their mission would officially begin.
Personally, Naruto was glad for it. Even four days of hard travel (and hard training, though he had been limited in clone usage so as to keep from losing control of the Nine-Tailed Fox's chakra) had not yet distracted him from the rampant devastation he'd caused when he had lost control, nor the nightmares he'd had ever since that day.

Nightmares about what would have happened if he'd done that in Konoha, for example.

The Genin shuddered slightly, before screwing a determined expression on and lengthening his stride. "C'mon, Kakashi-sensei! Let's get down there, you said this Priestess was a super-VIP, right? We gotta get there on time for once!"

With a secretly-relieved sigh that his student and temporary apprentice was finally cheering up, Kakashi slipped his ever-present book into the pouch on his waist and began dashing forward. He was right, after all. This time, of all times, it wouldn't do to be late. Not if the reason Konoha had been hired was even half the danger to be expected.

But he and Naruto were up to the task. He was one of the true elite, had been for years, trained by the now-legendary Fourth Hokage. Naruto, his (though he'd never admit it) favorite student, himself (again though he didn't know it) the son of that same Hokage, godson of the again-legendary Jiraiya-sama, godson again of (he might know this one) of the current, Fifth Hokage, Senju Tsunade-hime, was, as his forebears might suggest, capable of amazing feats. Feats that, even to he or they at the tender age of almost-sixteen, would have seemed outright impossible.
Oh, and he never, ever gave up or quit.
That would probably be important, useful on this mission.

"Come on, Kakashi-sensei! Let's go!"

Behind his mask, Kakashi smiled, before putting on a sudden burst of speed.
"Always excitable, aren't you, Naruto? You haven't changed too much after all..."

At this rate, they would be in the village- what they called a city- where the Priestess' temple-home lay within the hour, as it was just over the next ridge.
The tiny hamlet they were approaching would barely take two minutes to cross at a ninja's decent speed, and Naruto and Kakashi could cover ground faster than most.

(O)(O)(O)

"Are... are you serious, miss?"

The slender, well-toned brunette sighed, "Yes, I'm serious. I need all of that. As soon as possible, but I understand if you don't have that much in stock right now. Just give me all you've got right now, and I'll come back and get the rest in a few days."
"But... but it'll take weeks to get all of this in! Some of these are very expensive, as well! Are you sure you-"

"Yes," Tenten repeated, I'm serious! Come on, Cheng, you know me! I've been spending a thousand ryo in here every day, five thousand on Saturday, for five years! You know I use this stuff!"

"I'm sorry, Tenten-san," the older shop owner sighed, shaking his head slowly, "It's just... this is more than a ten-year supply for most ANBU Black-ops! I don't keep that lying around, you know?"

Taking a calming breath, Tenten slid the list- all twenty-seven small-print pages of it- back across the counter. "I'm fully aware of that, Cheng. Like I said, I'll be taking all you have now, and get the rest later."

With a resigned nod, the older man picked up the list once more. "I suppose I... but what about my other customers? I mean, it'll take three or four days for more to come in, so... what if someone else needs something?"

Tenten had her response ready, she'd been thinking about it for more than a week. "Then tough! You're a businessman, and I'm here for your business! If they come in too late to jump on it, then it's their problem! Don't even try to weasel out of it, Cheng, I know this is more than you sell in a month! I know, because I'm half your business as-is!"

"That's true, but-"

"And besides! I've already told you I'll come back and work in the shop to help you finish the order, as much as I can between missions!"

"Yes, but-"
"And I'm a Chunin! A Chunin who specializes in weapons! I can't fight without weapons!" Then, the nail in the coffin of Tenten's argument, "I'll die without weapons! But you wouldn't just lose my business, because everyone knows I buy from you! Think of your reputation, a weapon seller who couldn't sell weapons, and got his best customer killed? Huh?"

Her temporary enemy's resistance crumbled. "Fine! Fine! Just take it all, then! You gather, I'll add up the prices! Geez, Tenten-san! You're killing me, here!"

Seven hours later, Tenten's new collection of storage scrolls was one-tenth of the way filled. Just nine more weapons suppliers to clean out this week, and she'd be most of the way back to her old stock!

... "Stupid, peeping, annoying, groping, weapon-wasting, voyeuristic Naruto-baka!" she grumbled under her breath, repeating the litany, or something like it, a quarter-kilometer to the next weapon supplier on her list.

(O)(O)(O)

"And that's the situation, Ninja-san," the taller of the two women behind the bamboo-slatted screen finished. "Do you think you and your... apprentice? Are up to the task?"

Kakashi spared a one-eyed glance to his right, where Naruto was sitting surprisingly still, in proper seiza position just like he, and presumably the two priestesses on the other side, were kneeling. "Yes, your... my apologies. I'm not exactly sure how I should address you."

The shorter of the two women gave a very soft, almost inaudible snort, while the other chuckled lightly, "You may simply address us, either of us, by name. You and your apprentice have been tasked with our protection, the least my daughter and I can do is allow you to speak to us as equals."
"Of course, Miroku-dono," Kakashi gave a quick nod in Naruto's direction, "Naruto is a little on the less formal side, himself. He would probably prefer that, and I have no personal preference. With your permission, then, we will spend the rest of today analyzing your defenses. There's a possibility we will see something your own guards missed, especially with the eyes of a ninja."

There was another quiet, but louder, snort, before a higher voice spoke for the first time in the meeting, "I beg your pardon, Ninja-san, but I highly doubt you can find a route of attack for these supposed invaders my mother is so worried about, that our own guards- devoted protectors of Oni no Kuni's Priestesses for twenty-six generations- have failed to detect."

"Shion," Miroku said quietly, but the tone in her voice was unmistakeable.

"Hey," Naruto growled out, though his expression betrayed only the only the slightest annoyance, "your guards probably can't attack in ways ninja can, so they wouldn't think about it. Have you ever had to defend against an attack from above? Like, up in the sky? Or from below the ground?"

Kakashi sighed, "Naruto, you need to be quiet, remember? However," he turned his attention back to the Priestesses behind the screen that hid all but their silhouettes, "he does have a point. I don't doubt the effectiveness of your guards, but we were hired for a reason. I presume that, while our explicit mandate is to find and stop the intruders your mother warned us against, implicit within that is a directive to protect you from all other threats while doing so. So if we can find a weakness so that you can protect against it in the future, we will."

"Thank you, Kakashi-dono," Miroku replied. "Now, I think your suggestion is sound, Kakashi-dono. However, might I first recommend you and... Naruto, wasn't it? Take an hour or two to get settled in, perhaps bathe? Shion's assistant, Taruho-san, will show you to your rooms, and baths have already been prepared. Surely that much time will not impede your investigation and analysis?"

Kakashi, to his credit, took a full two seconds to debate internally, before countering, "Naruto may rest first, I'll start now, and we'll trade off in an hour. If that meets with your approval?"

"Mm, prudent... very well. Shion, you may return to your chambers. Taruho!"

The young man, perhaps three years older than Naruto, who had shown them to the chamber slid open the door behind the two ninja once more, before sliding his thin glasses further up his nose again, "You called, Miroku-sama?"

"Yes. Please show Naruto-san to his chambers. I will speak with Kakashi-dono a little longer before he begins his work."

"Yes, m'lady."

(O)(O)(O)

The ground beneath Naruto's feet trembled, though this time it wasn't his doing. A couple dozen meters away, the hard packed dirt of the temple courtyard's training area was rapidly becoming less hard pack, and more crumbled, scorched earth, thanks to Kakashi and his own practice on Elemental Manipulation.

Fortunately for Naruto, his team leader and teacher had been more than willing to offer him at least some useful tips, and let Naruto watch while he- very slowly- formed his Chidori ten times, explaining the process repeatedly and in detail.

Naruto was not the best at learning by being shown, and his own natural Air or Wind affinity was not a good match for Kakashi's Lightning affinity, but the basics were the same.

Gather the chakra, just like for any other jutsu. Add... something.
That was the part Naruto was missing. What that something was. He knew it was "Wind Chakra", because Kakashi was gathering "Lightning Chakra".

At least, he'd said he was, and his hands had started to shine with blue-white light, crackle, and so on.
In other words, he was transforming his chakra into Lightning chakra, through means unknown.

Means Naruto had to figure out, at least if he was going to ever surpass the Yondaime Hokage, and build his Rasengan to a level no one ever had. Oh, and to get a more powerful 'signature jutsu'.

... And be more badass.

Oh, and use surpassing the Yondaime as evidence that he, too, should be Hokage once Tsunade-baa-chan stepped down. That was important, too.

As the dust started to settle, Kakashi called across the courtyard, "Naruto, take a break! Remember, cancel the Kage Bunshin one at a time, alright? No more lost control."

Having long since learned that arguing with Kakashi about when it was time to stop training. The most recent episode, the day before, when one of his clones had gone nuts and started attacking three other clones.
Fortunately, he'd been quick to dispel it, but the anger remained for another hour, and all that had been due just to the frustration of not being able to master this, apparently, Jonin-level technique in the space of a few days.

He was making progress. He knew he was closer today than he had been the day before, and the day before that. He could feel it. But that leaf... those damned leaves, they just wouldn't be cut!
He could hold up his not-light weight, all his gear, and so on, upside down on a branch using chakra. But that same chakra could not, at least in its raw form, slice through a single leaf.

But how did you actually change the chakra into... something else?

He was distracted by a snort from the near edge of the courtyard.

"Foolish... and incompetent."

Naruto's eyes narrowed further. He had only seen the younger Priestess a few times since their arrival a week and a half ago, and each time she had shown herself to be...

Spoiled.

A brat.

Not just a spoiled brat, though, but far beyond even Sasuke's level of self absorbtion.

"Whatever, brat," Naruto muttered, though apparently not quietly enough.
The girl's ears must have been sharp, because she froze mid-stride, before slowly turing a deep scowl in his direction. "What... did you call me?"

Never one to back down from a confrontation, even with a VIP client's daughter (herself also a VIP client), Naruto stood up a little straighter, his earlier fatigue forgotten. "I said you were a brat, brat."

One of the Priestess' barely-visible eyebrows quivered, while Taruho, her aid's, hand went to the hilt of his sword. "I suggest you apologize to Shion-sama, Ninja-san."

"No."

Across the courtyard, Kakashi, his own ears sharper than anyone Naruto knew, had long since stopped his own practice to watch the debacle unfold. He was torn, however.

On the one hand, Naruto was instigating- as far as he saw it, anyway- a fight between himself and his client. A fight Naruto would certainly win in a physical confrontation (in all honest, Kakashi felt that Naruto had only scratched the surface of how many Shadow Clones he could summon at once if needed, and unpolished or not, his student's combat skills were universes beyond the average well-trained and lightly-equipped soldiers the Priestesses kept for protection against bandits and the like.
But this wasn't about who would win in a fight, this was about a job. They'd been hired to protect Miroku and her daughter Shion, and find and hunt down the supposed threat.

A threat, Kakashi had to note, they had seen neither hide nor hair of for several days, but which Miroku- driven, she claimed, by visions of the future- was certain of, and was certain was close.

On the other hand... Naruto did have a way with people. He antagonized them into admitting- intentionally or not, even verbally or not- their own weaknesses and fears, and then turning them into strengths. Usually, he gained a friend in the process.

The list was nearly endless, and the Jonin had first taken note of it waaaaay back in Yuki no Kuni, with Koyuki Kazehana, the actress-turned-princess. She'd been abrasive, rude, even cruel to he and his squad, and moreso to her own crew, but after just a few days of knowing Naruto... she'd changed.
He liked to think he was part of that, but truth be told, it had almost all been the blonde, and his sheer determination that no one should have to suffer as he had in his childhood.

No one should be alone.

Ever.

Even if every one else hated a person, Naruto vowed to be their friend. And he never, ever went back on his word.

Ever.

This was shaping up to be a classic example. True, Shion was a Priestess, not a Princess (unlike no less than three of his previous contracts had been for), but the basic mission parameters were the same. Protect the client from an unknown number of assailants with an unknown threat level.

And, in the process, Naruto's own personal mission seemed to be making those girls or women happier than they had been in years.

The powerful Genin's modus operandi seemed to be in full swing, if the shouting going on was any indication. And the attraction of no less than fifty soldiers- half the total guard force- to the courtyard in varying states of dress was a powerful indicator, indeed.

Only Taruho, the second-in-command of the entire unit and Shion's personal aide and bodyguard's presence and reluctant refusal to get involved (as there were no blows being exchanged) had kept some of the other guards from being involved already.

"Mah... my work's never done. But I guess I should go put a stop to this, at least for now..."

"Take that back, you imbecile!"

"No! You are a spoiled brat! So what if you're a Priestess? Your mother does all the hard work, you said it yourself! You have guards and servants to take care of your every whim, and when something's not perfect, you throw it on the floor! Don't even try to deny it, you did it at breakfast just this morning! If that's not a spoiled brat, I don't know what is!"

Point to Naruto, Kakashi thought, only three steps across the courtyard.

"Then you aren't very smart then, are you?! The rice was undercooked, and the cooks know I'm allergic to raspberry!"

The teens were leaning into each other, Kakashi saw, faces just inches apart. It almost looked, given the flush of their faces and close position, like they were both leaning in for a kiss. Except that four hands were clenched, shaking in anger, and the rosy cheeks were not from passion, but from anger.

Still... maybe Jiraiya could make use of this. He could earn a personal bonus if he helped inspire the next installment, right...? Maybe even another signed, pre-publish print, like the one Naruto had brought him upon his return to Konoha?

"Yeah, well, you still didn't have to waste it! Other people would have eaten it, you know! I wonder if your chef has kids? What do you pay him, a ryo a day? And you treat him like that? I'd quit! I'd never want to work for someone as spoiled as you!"

"Well you do!" Shion retorted immediately, "So suck it up! My mother's paying your Village a lot of money to keep me and my mother safe, so go do it, and quit wasting your time holding leaves instead of working!"

Kakashi was now almost to Naruto, was in fact raising his arm to place it gently on the boy's shoulder, when a quiet voice rang across the courtyard, even while his student pulled in another breath for his no doubt even louder response. "Shion."

The Pristess' daughter froze mid-pant. A moment later, her expression was carefully neutral once more, and she'd returned to a calm, placid posture, her hands- no doubt still clenched and shaking- were held inside the voluminous sleeves of her robes. "Yes, Mother?"

"If you continue to act this way, I will send Naruto and Kakashi home... and you and I will be forced to live, or die, with the consequences. Am I clear?"

"Yes, Mother."

"Good. Return to your chambers for the time being, we'll speak of this later. Taruho-san, please return the men to their practice. Kakashi-dono, Naruto-san, may I speak with you privately for a moment?"

(O)(O)(O)

It was a much subdued Naruto that paced atop the roof of the Temple late that night. He'd been silent, or nearly so, since Shion's mother had started to explain about her daughter's life up until that point.

The way her 'gift' of prophecy worked to protect the Priestess, how when the future them died, their spirit sent the visions back in time, so that they could see who might be willing to die to protect them... how that gift was a necessary sacrifice, the only way they could ensure the Priestesses lived long enough to fulfill their duty of either training the next generation, or blocking the resurrection of the dark entity, Mōryō.

How, because of that, and even beyond the Temple Guardian's vigilant watch, even through Miroku's own apparently considerable power, there had already been ninety-nine deaths predicted by Shion... and every single one had come true, exactly as she'd said.

She had, however, also made the mistake a day before of predicting Naruto's death.

Well, he, for one, wasn't going to die until he became Hokage.

Until he had a family.

Until the Uzumaki name had been carried on.

Screw predictions of death.

He didn't believe in Fate, after all.

Had proven to Neji that 'Fate' was a crutch for the weak-willed.
So he was 'fated' to die? He'd just prove Fate itself wrong, if he had to.

Because he was Uzumaki Naruto, damn it, and he just would not die, until his dreams were fulfilled.

Then again...

As scary as that thought could be, he'd been in life-and-death situations before. Naruto had first been faced with his mortality and the tender age of twelve, when Mizuki had turned traitor, and even more so a few weeks later in Nami no Kuni, when they'd been attacked by the Demon Brothers of Mist, and then Momochi Zabuza, followed again by no less a threat than Orochimaru.

If they hadn't killed him, he reasoned, no such thing as "fate" was going to manage it, either.

But that wasn't the reason for his melancholy, anyway.

It was Shion.

Sure, she was a total brat. A bitch, even, and a cold-hearted, selfish one, at that.

But he could...

He could kind of see why.

It couldn't be easy, could it?
To have those who grew close to you... to have them die to protect you, to know it was coming, to know that, in the end, they were chosing to die so that you could live.
Over and over.

And over.

Ninety-nine times, her friends had died to keep her alive.

That had to wear on a person.

But even that wasn't all of it.

He understood the reasoning Miroku had for not training her daughter further... it was much the same reason why the Third Hokage's councilors had recommended Naruto not be allowed to be trained as a ninja, after all.

"What if he goes bad? What if he releases the monster, or loses control, and kills us all?"

Upon hearing the worried old crone's voice once again in his head, just as he'd overheard when he was six (and a few times since), Naruto spat at the ground in derision. Sure, he had anger issues.

Didn't everyone his age? Sasuke did... Neji did, Lee, Choji... even Shikamaru, the most laid-back guy he knew, could be set off by some things. Everyone had their triggers.

Hell, even the girls. Sakura, for one, was a prime example.

In fact, the only person he knew who'd never lost their cool even at him specifically was Tenten. Even sweet-natured Ayame had yelled at him once or twice for breaking things in the shop, or coming in exceptionally dirty.

That didn't explain away Shion's behavior, though, he knew. Or at least, didn't justify it.

She was a big girl (images of the girl's generous chest popped into view, but he forced them away. He was a professional, damn it, even if she was stacked in that department... and a few others), she should be able to control herself, to see the kind of damage she was inflicting on others. Didn't she want people to like her?

Didn't everyone?

It was just strange to Naruto, who had always craved friendship, not to want fr..i...e...

"Holy shit," he muttered, "that's why... she really doesn't want friends. Her friends keep dying. So she's pushing everyone away... so she can die instead. Man..."

Twenty minutes later, he was still arguing with himself.
He couldn't decide if that was selfish, or not.

Push everyone away so they could live... or just be herself, and let them decide for themselves if they wanted to die for her or not.

In his lifetime, Naruto would never make up his mind on that matter.

(O)(O)(O)

A month. A solid thirty-three days of training, of missions, more C-ranked than anything, plus as many D-ranks as she could cram into her schedule, and Tenten's collection was... well, not complete, but complete enough. Many of her weapons in the previous collection had been rare. Two had even been almost-unique, with only a few know copies in the entire world.

But at least her usual weapons, the veritable library of common to uncommon weapons, plus a few of the rarer ones, and literally a thousand each kunai and shuriken, along with more than five hundred kilometers all told of ninja wire (of four different tensions), were all sealed inside scrolls, which were all now sealed inside a much-reinforced sealing scroll three times larger than her largest pair before.

One might wonder why a kunoichi as careful as Tenten would risk the destruction of her entire collection of scrolls by putting it all in one large scroll instead of two smaller ones as she had before.

If asked, she would give a simple answer. "Set this on fire. Dip it in acid. Crush it. Soak it. Cut it with a blade or wind. Whatever you want. I dare you. In fact, if you can damage it the slightest bit, I'll give you the collection. It's worth a few million ryo."

And she'd tried, after six days of cramming before even starting the rebuild, to come up with the perfect schema. She had consulted the library, Gai, been directed to Tsunade, and after getting over her fangasm enough about meeting Tsunade for personal training, been directed to a different Sannin, Jiraiya.

After being subjected to a rather lewd gaze (and dismissed as 'too young', for which she was almost relieved, and a bit flattered, because that was the only problem he seemed to have with her appearance), she'd cajoled him into looking over her work.

He'd deemed it amateurish, but passable, and commented that it'd take him at least a few hours to unravel it, if only due to the sheer number of protective seals she'd crammed into the thing, then showed her how to make it all much more elegant... and lost track of time.

Two days later, she had purchased the largest scroll the shop could make, repeated her seal around both sides of all four edges along the entire length, and started gathering her storage scrolls and weapons collection once again.

True, she couldn't really perform her Twin Rising Dragons, yet, because she didn't have those two scrolls replaced (they would require another one-fourth of her entire collection, an investment she was certain could wait a while... like until Naruto got back to pay for it), but her Grand Rising Dragon technique was surely enough for any common threat.

And if worst came to worst, there was always her reliable team.

Tenten sighed in relief, and rolled the massive scroll back up. "Finally done... now I just need to get used to carrying the weight, and I'm set!"

(O)(O)(O)

Naruto yawned sleepily as he wandered down the quiet corridors of the Temple. Kakashi, as usual, had been late for his watch, which meant Naruto had gotten even less sleep. He was used to it, of course, but he'd still rather actually get his eight hours off, because Kakashi would insist on his watch being eight hours total, no matter how much shorter he cut Naruto's.

Perhaps it was the dim, pre-dawn light. The corridors were lit only at intersections by a single candle, and while there were a dozen or so guards patrolling the grounds, the Temple itself was empty but for the cooks, who'd risen an hour or so earlier.

Then again, it could have been sleep deprivation. It can make idiots of us all, and many would say it didn't have far to go with Naruto.

Even just the unfamiliar (though rapidly getting that way) building.

After all, the doors were unmarked and all the same.

Most likely, though, it was a combination of all three that lead to the predicament he was about to get into.

The door was silent, well-oiled as all of them were, and the wooden floorboards did not creak as he stepped into the room. The bed was... different.

Had someone changed the linens? They had after the first week, hadn't they?
Oh, and someone had added flowers! That was nice of them! They sure made the room smell nice.

Naruto froze. There was a soft splash of water.

"Keuchi, is that you?"

Crap.

"You can just leave the towels there, I'll be out in a moment. It's not like you to be up so early, but thank you."

Oh, he was surprised to hear himself thinking even partially rationally at this point, so there is someone she's nice to...

Truth be told, over the last two weeks since her training had been put on hold and Kakashi and Naruto had learned of Shion's history, he'd been trying his best to prove her wrong... the problem was, he was trying to prove it to Shion herself, and she was dead-set on her beliefs.

Until he didn't die, there was no way he could see of convincing her. But he was as nice as he could be, all the same, and she had, very slowly, started to warm up to him.
A little.

But when Shion stood from her bath and stepped around the partition, holding her long, silken blonde hair with one hand to keep it from dripping down her back or front, any progress fled straight out the window, across Tsuchi no Kuni, and then the northern oceans, before leaving the planet entirely.

Because Naruto was a poor, sad teenaged boy of nearly sixteen, and Shion was a very well-endowed, very pretty, very naked girl, very right in front of him.

Naruto's trousers immediately grew tight, even as Shion's casual movement came to an abrupt standstill.

Reflexively, his hands moved down to his groin, either to hide his shame, or to protect his most precious possessions.

In fact, the only possessions he truly did treasure.

Shion's lilac-colored eyes followed his hands, which failed to hide the bulge. Her cheeks reddened significantly, before her eyes widened.

Neither moved.

Outside, a dog barked quietly, some distance away.

The door behind Naruto was pushed open further, and a feminine voice Naruto was not familiar with said from right behind him, "Shion-sama, I have your- Oh. Excuse me, I didn't see you- Wait. Why are you in Shion-sama's- Guards! Intruder! Guards, Guards!"

Naruto, displaying tactical prowess which Jiraiya would have praised him for (not just for the view!), immediately performed a quick Substitution with a hastily-created Kage Bunshin on the other side of the maid, and ran for it.

Only when he was slamming the door to his room shut, did he hear Shion's shriek of shock, outrage, and embarrassment.

"Well," he muttered to himself, "at least my boner's gone... I'm never gonna live this down..."

Above them all, at the peak of the Temple, the shriek was still echoing.

Kakashi simply smiled under his facemask. "Like sensei, like student... except I made Miroku-san shriek in an entirely different way. You take after your father too much sometimes, Naruto..."

A/N2: Thanks as always to my beta, Mouse, and to LordTicky for much of the inspiration to get me working on this, because of them you get TROLL instead of nothing. I would have been working on something, but due to their presence in my head, I was able to work on something I'm actually publishing, instead of something I'm not publishing until it's done. :)

'till next time, kiddies- don't forget to Read and REVIEW. Seriously, TROLL is lacking for those, you know... makes a guy less inclined to write.

Oh, and don't worry about the prank war calming down. You'll get more of it when Naruto gets back to Konoha to hear about it. Because it IS still going on.