Naruto:Death's Second Chance

by Le loup de Kaiser

Ever since the attack of the Kyubi, Naruto was shunned as ‘Konoha’s Demon’ when he was born with the Kyubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. NaruHina, Naruto/Bleach Crossover.

24. The Snakes in the Grass

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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.

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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?

A/N: Yare Yare Yare. Mina wa doo desu ka?(How are you all doing?)

Crap!(Evades several bullets and RPGs before diving behind a bar counter.)

Barkeep behind the counter: Damn you! This is all your fault! You made 'em wait for too long! Some author you are! Who's gonna' pay for all the shit you racked up? Revy ain't here to save our hides you know!

Easy there... It ain't easy to study you know? School can be a drag but at least I don't update every oh I don't know, year? Two months plus is like the updates of Vampire Knight, Rosario+Vampire, and Berserk. Then again you have a point. (Brings out a Dragunov Sniper Rifle and takes down ten angry readers with headshots from behind the counter.)

There. All right, while I'm busy with the rabid haters (throws a flashbang and dives inside janitor closet to reload) you guys can enjoy the fresh update if you're still interested. I'm finally free enough to take back my loyal supporters, even if it means through force. (Charges out of closet with big-ass balisong in between my teeth while open firing with the fully reloaded SVD.) Let's taste the blood!

Talking
'thinking/flashback'
Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu
'Kyuubi Thinking'

Chapter 24

The Snakes in the Grass

Right after the preliminaries…

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The young blonde walked down the road towards Konoha Hospital. Luckily, today in the wee hours before visitations would end for the day, he entered the double doors and asked the attendant at the counter if there was a Hyuuga Hinata checked in. The nurse was perplexed at why the demon of Konoha would have business with an aristocrat like the Hyuuga Clan. But since her shift would be over, she then checked the registry one last time and said, "Hyuuga Hinata is in emergency care at the moment. I'm afraid that she can't have any visitors for the day."

Naruto then sighed and said, "Arigato gozaimashta. Shitsureeshimasu." (Thank you very much. Excuse me.) He then bowed slightly and left as easily as he came.

The nurse then thought, 'Since when did demons make bows and politeness a part of their attitude? This doesn't make sense.'

Naruto walked out of the hospital not minding the death-glares shot at him from the population that hated him. His fiery tenant then said, So…what now? Doesn't look like you'll be able to visit anyone.

"I'll just head home then. Still have to get an update on the situation with the hollows." The young blonde said as he shunpo'd out of sight. Unfortunately, his movements attracted attention from Tenten who was just earshot from the hospital. She went to look what made that strange sound but there was no sight of what made it. She then thought, 'It must be the wind. Lately I've been tense after what happened at the preliminary matches. I better go help Neji in his upcoming match with Naruto.'

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Kakashi finally managed to drop Sasuke off at the hospital and was on his way to return the tape to his 'friend' and have a talk with her.

When he finally reached the red light district he then thought, 'A lot of things happened today and I need a break. Now where is…'

He looked left and right until he heard several sounds of crunching bones, torn flesh, and some screams of agony. His instincts went into high gear and he sprinted off into the direction of where it came from. When he came upon a small crowd, he shoved his way through to see five broken thugs scattered on the ground with Mizore standing in the middle while a group of three more thugs were a few steps in front of her. The middle thug was armed with a knife.

Kakashi then looked to his left and saw the video store. He then gazed back at the scene before him as the rough looking thug, that he presumed to be the leader, spoke.

"Damn ye woman! I tried teh reason wit'cha, but'cha jus' whacked teh shit outta' me crew!" the rough-looking thug said while his right hand that held his poorly made knife shook in fear.

Mizore then said, "I don't think that that's right. You stormed into my shop, tossed out my customers, and demanded protection money when I never even asked for help from any syndicate. I don't even know any of you."

The lanky thug on the right of the rough looking one said, "What kind of reasoning is that? You wouldn't even be here without our help."

The fat one on the left of the rough looking one said, "C'mon, let's be reasonable 'ere. Tell ya what, we forget the whole mess if'n ya come with us down at the bar."

"No way in hell!" said Kwago as he stepped out of the video store with a navy blue do-rag to add to his attire. "You idiots keep yapping about how important you are but face the facts. We got here on our own. In fact, there isn't a syndicate in Konoha! You want money? Then get your lazy ass back to work!"

The lanky thug then rolled up his sleeves and charged at Mizore as he shouted, "I'll smack that shit back at ya!"

The lanky thug tried to spear her, but Mizore, in one fluid motion, grabbed his right arm with her left and placed her right forearm over his nape and her right hand under his right armpit and held it. While in the momentum, she yanked his right arm upward with her left and simultaneously dropped to her right knee causing the man's head to hit the ground hard and his neck to break with a sickening snap because her forearm still held the pressure on his neck. (Trust me, that move will kill when someone spears you.) She then let go of the thug and looked at the remaining ones with concern in her eyes.

The other two thugs were quite shaken, realizing their friend was no longer moving, as she got up leaving the lanky thug dead on the ground. She then spoke in a calm, practiced voice, "Please… we don't want to hurt you."

The fat thug attacked next. He charged and threw a right haymaker. Mizore simply stepped to the left, grabbed his wrist with her right hand, and turned right. At the same time, she held his arm, just above the elbow, with her left as the man lost his balance. She then snapped the arm and quickly wrung her right arm around his neck with the backside of her hand as the anchor and slinked her left arm under his left armpit and placed her left hand firmly on his nape and stepped back causing the man to lean back on her while on the chokehold. She then dropped down on her right knee once more, snapping this man's neck as well.

She let go and stepped in front of the fat cadaver to face the last thug.

Kakashi was shocked by what he saw. He was stunned that a woman of her caliber was living in this side of town.

The rough looking man pointed his knife at her and in a shaky and slightly hysterical voice, exclaimed his rage at losing his companions and fear of what was to come, "B-B-Bitch! Die!"

He charged and lunged with his knife, but she anticipated the last thug's moves as well. She quickly grabbed his wrist with her right hand and twisted it while giving a hard palm strike to his face with her left causing the blade to fall. In one fluid motion before he could react, She then curled her left arm back, grabbing his right forearm with her left hand while pushing his right arm back with her right hand by his right hand and then putting his right wrist behind his head with both arms and then tucking his head in between her right forearm giving him a chokehold.

The choking man tried to pry himself free with his other arm but only managed to rip her right sleeve, revealing eight black bands tattooed on her right arm.

Mizore then hoisted him over her slim frame from the chokehold causing him to land on top of his right arm behind her as he gasped for air and got on his knees.

She then faced him and said, "We can offer you a job in our store if you need money that badly. So please stop this before we call the shinobis over."

The man was cringing from the pain of his twisted wrist. He then suddenly bolted and grabbed the knife on the floor with his left and lunged at Mizore who stepped back from the initial strike to give distance as she threw down her left arm causing her hidden balisong to fall into her left hand and flipped it open to reveal it's one-sided blade.

She then said, "If that's the case, then my bente nueve will teach you instead."(It's a 29cm balisong from hilt to blade. Those are the common sizes in my country and they are REALLY SHARP. I know from experience.)

Mizore held the balisong in a reverse grip as the man lunged at her. She grabbed his left wrist with her right while parrying his left arm with her knife. She then pulled him in with her right as she slunk her left arm under and over it causing his left arm to bend over her left shoulder as she brought her blade over his throat and stabbing deep in his jugular before cutting his head off in a sawing motion and finally yanking it out by the hair leaving his body to fall to the floor in a rapidly increasing pool of blood.

What made things even more shocking was that the blood from his neck slinked through the air and formed a ninth black band on her right arm as she let go of the severed head.

Those who witnessed this were shocked and scared and most fled during the fight. Kakashi then entered the scene as Mizore cleaned the blood off her blade with the shirt of the fallen thug.

"You're pretty good." The silver haired jounin said. He then thought, 'Now I know why sensei said to never underestimate a woman.'

Mizore looked back at him and said, "So does this mean that we'll be heading to jail?"

Kakashi then said as he returned to his senses, "No. From my point of view, you killed them in self defense." 'Her skills are too sharp to be in self-defense though. Either she's fought all her life or she's a shinobi. I've never seen her in the ranks though…then again, I rarely join those meetings so I don't know what goes on while I'm away.'

The lazy beauty sighed in relief as she flipped the blade back in its sheath and tucked it in her sleeve again.

Kakashi then asked, "So…are you a shinobi?"

Kwago then approached them and said, "No. But her mother and my mother were. Both were Konoha shinobi. You must've thought she was one when you saw her Kekei Genkai."

Kakashi then said, "So I was right." He then brought out his tape from his back pouch and said, "Here's the tape. I didn't expect 'that' to show up when I was recording the preliminaries."

Mizore then took the tape and said, "Sorry about that. I mixed up the tapes by accident. I owe you twice now."

Kakashi replied, "Don't worry about it." He then nicked his thumb and summoned Pakkun who looked at him and asked, "What do you need now?" Pakkun then suddenly leaped back and faced Mizore and Kwago while making a low but threatening growl.

Kakashi then asked what was wrong only for Pakkun to reply, "These people have eaten my kind! I can smell it a mile away!"

The sliver haired jounin then looked to Mizore who said, "Unfortunately yes. We had no other option since we're poor. That…and its otou-san's favorite food."

Kakashi then said to Pakkun, "Tell the Hokage that a fight broke out here and some people died so we need to clean up."

Pakkun then gave a hard glare to Kakashi before scurrying off to the Hokage Tower.

The silver haired jounin then faced Mizore and said, "Now that that's taken care of, you mind if we talk?"

Kwago then said, "Alright. Come inside then."

The trio entered the video store to discuss some interesting matters. Meanwhile back at the Namikaze House…

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Naruto entered the house to see Renji resting by the couch with bandages all over and Chad looking slightly worse for wear while Ichigo slept on the floor. Yoruichi entered from the kitchen with a bowl of ramen in one hand. She then saw Naruto and said, "Oi bozu, How was the matches?"

The young blonde replied, "Not so bad aside from what happened to Hinata and Sasuke."

Yoruichi then sat down on the floor while Naruto did the same. Renji then asked, "What about Rukia, Ishida and Inoue?"

Naruto replied, "The three are still in the medical wards. They should be coming home soon."

Chad then sat beside Renji and said, "The hollows swarmed in fast."

Yoruichi nodded as she slurped some ramen.

Naruto replied, "I doubt that's the last of them. This is bad. Not only do we have an invasion, but we also have hollow threats."

Yoruichi then slurped down the last ramen of her bowl and placed it on the floor before crossing her arms. "The rifts from Hueco Mundo have finally opened here. According to the database in Sereitei, there have never been any hollow activities in this world. Even my new sources here tell me that there isn't any type of spirits like the hollows. But with a new source of food, they'll all mob up eventually."

Naruto replied, "Just like for the past few days."

Yoruichi nodded. "So many holes opened up at once that we barely had time to close any of it. We were in a pinch. But what was puzzling was that they didn't attempt to enter Konoha. Most of them stood on the outskirts."

Renji then replied, "They didn't bother to move too much or retreat. Was the attack a distraction?"

Naruto placed his hand on his chin and thought for a moment. He then replied with a sharp face, "The reiatsu that emanated from Sasuke flared out causing the hollows to appear. But the way they flared out was like one of those distress beacons—short powerful pulses."

Chad then lifted his head so that his left eye could see them clearly. "Maybe it was a call for reinforcements."

They pondered on it for a while until Yoruichi asked, "What about Sasuke, bozu?"

Naruto then shook his head and said, "I wasn't able to stick around to know what happened. But I'm sure they were able to since he did watch the last matches. But when his reiatsu first flared out, Kyuubi said that it was Sasuke's reiatsu and someone else's combined."

Yoruichi was confused. "But it was off the charts and close to the initial readings of the reiatsu of the elemental gods."

Naruto replied, "If that's the case, then why isn't there an army of soul bound armors in Konoha?"

Renji then replied, "Sorry Naruto. We don't know as much as you do since they were around during the old man's time."

Naruto then asked, "Where's Urahara-san by the way?"

Renji replied, "He went to look for more electronic parts. But I bet ya anything he's resting at a fancy hot spring."

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Urahara, with his hat still on his head, sneezed from his relaxed state in the hot springs. He then said, "Gee, someone must be talking about me. This means I have to get back to work."

He then took the newspaper beside him and returned to his research. His eyes widened a bit when he saw a specific article. He then read it slightly aloud. "Konoha spearheads the summer by being the first host for this year's Chunin Exams. Daimyos and citizens are all allowed to witness this event as shinobis battle for their honor and the honor of their village. The young ambassador of Hi no Kuni, who is said to be in the village at this very moment, will grace Konoha this year with his presence. Just one more month till the half day event."

Urahara then thought aloud, "The ambassador of the country…not too far off from the noble houses of Sereitiei. Looks like a lot of important people need to be protected."

The wild haired blonde then looked at the sky and saw that it was nearing sunset. He decided to leave for now and bring in his haul back to the Namikaze House. Fully dressed once more, he took his large bag on his shoulders and left through the front entrance. But seeing as he still had time to linger for a while, he took one last look at the springs. When he did, he saw a strange man in a kabuki hakama seated in front of a wall, giggling away. The man had rough but long white hair tied in a low ponytail at the back with a horned hitai-ate that had the kanji for oil on it on his forehead. He wore sandals reminiscent of a tengu and face paint in red tears streaming from his eyes as the man scribbled away on a small notebook while the large scroll on his back hung loosely.

Urahara then approached the man and said, "I guess this is the only form of entertainment left for old guys like us eh?"

The perverted man then turned around and quickly summoned a large orange toad that sent its long tongue at Urahara. Not one to be put down, the wild haired blonde then leaped back and landed gracefully on top of the railing post of the small bridge over the hot spring.

The perverted man then raised an eyebrow before smiling and saying, "I completely forgot that I shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Who are you?"

Urahara then took of his hat and made a gentleman's bow. "Urahara Kisuke, at your service. Doozo Yoroshiku." He then put his hat back on and asked in a pleasant tone, "So who might you be?"

The man then twirled his hair up as he said, "Thank you for asking!" he then made a ridiculous pose and said, "I am Myouboku Mountain's Monk of the Frog Spirits. The frog hermit!"

Urahara then rubbed his chin before lifting his finger up and said, "Ah! Now I remember! You're the perverted sage of the three saninns: Jiraya the ero-sennin."

Jiraya face vaulted as his summon disappeared. He then hopped back on his feet and said, "How dare you call me that!" he then crossed his arms and mumbled, "Sheesh. People these days have no manners."

Urahara chuckled lightly as he dropped back to the ground and approached Jiraya. "I'm sorry. Naruto-kun kept talking about your perverted ways that it stuck in my head that way. Again, forgive me."

Jiraya faced him with curiosity. "Sounds like your friend knows me. But I've never heard of him." 'Something's not right with this guy. I can only feel a little chakra from him, but he moved as if he was a trained shinobi. And how does he know Minato's son?'

Urahara then scratched his face and said, "Are… you don't know Namikaze Naruto? His father was your student before he died and became the Third Division's Captain."

Jiraya then sharpened his gaze at the man as he dropped his arms to his sides. "I think we should talk elsewhere."

Jiraya then leaped up on the roof only for Urahara to follow shortly, confirming the sage's suspicions.

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In the Hokage Tower, Sarutobi was staring at a six-year-old boy in red, elegant, traditional japanese robes with short, white wavy hair and was heterochromatic with the left eye green and the right one blue. Beside the boy were his two guards.

On his right was a fat man that looked like he weighed two hundred pounds. He wore a dog's mask and a blue beanie to cover his shaved head. He wore heavy Kevlar armor underneath a red shirt with the kanji for raccoon on it and gray shorts under his large belly. He also wore black shinobi sandals, a gold watch on his left wrist, and a silver ring on the same hand. The only weapons he seemed to carry were a slingshot and a set of knives in different sizes on his belt.

On the left was a black haired young woman who wore traditional shinobi attire in a purple sleeveless yukata with the skirt cut just below her crotch. She wore long, black, hand gloves and stockings of the same color that ended two and a half inches just below her crotch. She wore blue shinobi sandals and although she had her hair styled the way a Yamato Nadeshiko would, her face is unseen by her lizard mask. She didn't carry any weapons but rather had a huge scroll diagonally harnessed on her back via rope.

The old Hokage weighed the negotiations given to him and thought deeply about what he needed to do in order for the request the young boy presented to be valid and accepted. The old warrior then said, "I'm afraid we cannot allow open entry into Konoha once the Chunin Exams begin for security reasons…Hikaru-san."

The female guard suddenly barked, "That's Ittousei Hikaru-sama to you! Show respect!"

Sarutobi was taken aback by her words until the young boy raised his hand and chuckled.

Hikaru then answered, "Don't mind tokage-san. She's just looking out for me. But are you sure we can't allow freedom for the villagers and outsiders to come and go?"

Sarutobi then furrowed his brow and replied, "No. We cannot compromise security for freedom of passage when the Daimyos and the Kazekage are involved. More so if there is an ambassador such as your self."

Hikaru then looked to the ceiling as he said, "I guess it does make sense, but now how could we show our village to the world?"

The male guard then replied, "Uh…Hikaru-sama, this is a hidden village."

Hikaru sweatdropped and laughed. Sarutobi shook his head and think, 'He's just like the old Naruto.'

Hikaru then pointed at Sarutobi and said, "We will withdraw for today. But by the end of the month we will convince you to have an open door policy during that day. You have no idea just how much people we can help and strength we can gain with that policy."

Hikaru then politely bowed in unison with his guards before leaving. Sarutobi wiped his brow and thought, 'I need to retire soon. I was about to give in back there to that child.'

He then looked at the sky and thought out loud, "I guess it's time for me to pass the torch. Sadly my successors are either biologically young and idealistic or old and realistic."

As he was thinking, Ichigo entered the room and said, "Sorry to bother you. Are you busy?"

Sarutobi then turned around to see the young man in jeans, white sneakers and a plain white shirt. Ichigo then said, "It's been a while Jiji."

Sarutobi made a weak smile at the comment. "Unfortunately I don't remember anything that happened in the past. Hopefully, I'll live long enough to reminisce."

Ichigo then walked towards his desk and marveled at the amount of paperwork. "Sugoi… This is a lot of work. More than what I have to do at the hospital." (Sugoi in this case means terrible.)

Sarutobi replied, "Running a village is much harder than a hospital. But now I'm curious of your life Kurosaki-san."

Ichigo rubbed his nape and said, "Life isn't easy these days. I was an irregular until I finally earned stable working hours. Even then, all this happened."

Sarutobi replied, "I would love to hear more but that would take away precious time."

Ichigo's face sharpened slightly into seriousness. "Jiji, Oto nins are pouring in from the country to the north. But I'm more worried about the hollows. They've found this world already and might come back for more. We're ready to fight them but everyone else might get caught in it."

Sarutobi then sighed and said, "Unfortunately we can't spare any more. Our forces are too thin so it will be difficult. And there's that ambassador that's pushing for an open door policy on Konoha during the Final Exam."

Ichigo replied, "If that's the case, then we have our work cut out for us. I need to go so I'll see you if something comes up."

With that, Ichigo quietly walked out of the room leaving Sarutobi to his work while elsewhere a certain lazy blonde and perverted hermit landed in a small clearing.

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Jiraya sat on the ground of the forest, smoking on his pipe. He made a puff on it and said, "I want to have an encounter with a sexy babe that will send my heart aflame."

Urahara sighed and said, "I thought you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Jiraya replied, "We have all the time to talk but an old man doesn't have much longer to find a hot and sexy babe to—"

Urahara suddenly cut in. "Not in my world. There are plenty of women who'll do anything for some time alone."

Jiraya replied, "So what do you need?"

Urahara comically replied, "To be the knight in shining armor off to save the princess!"

Jiraya chuckled and made a devious smile. "I can do better than that! I can give you a knight who is a princess!"

Urahara then pulled out a small gourd from his hakama and said, "So let's celebrate!"

Jiraya then raised his hand. "Choto matte kudasai." (Please wait a minute.)

Urahara then smiled and said, "Eh? I thought we had an agreement?"

But then Naruto entered the scene and said, "Urahara-san, did you get everything?" But when he saw whom he was sitting beside, he then said, "Don't tell me you've been hanging out with ero-sennin all this time?"

Jiraya crossed his arms and said, "Hmph. So you're the guy who's been calling me a pervert."

Naruto then replied, "Well you are one—Past, present, and future. Since I'm here already, can I make a deal with you?"

Jiraya replied, "You're friend already made a deal. But my services don't come cheap."

Naruto then said, "Let me guess, you want a sexy babe to set your heart aflame."

Jiraya then cocked an eyebrow with confidence and said, "You know me very well. I swear that I will do whatever you need if you can help me."

Naruto then pulled out his GPS from his pocket and dialed away. Jiraya was curious of the device until Naruto said over it, "Yoruichi-san, I found him. I'm no good with this guy so could you—?"

Naruto then nodded and thanked her on the phone. He then faced Jiraya and said, "There's a river nearby so I'll bring her over there." He then leaped through the forest and disappeared without a trace.

The two biologically older men then brushed past the forest and sat at the bedrock shore side of the river. It didn't take long for the young blonde to arrive with a black cat. Jiraya was about to comment until Naruto said to the cat, "It would be easier to talk if you transformed."

The black cat glowed with a bright blue light before changing shape into a naked, dark- skinned woman with purple hair in a high ponytail and yellow eyes. Jiraya was more than pleased. His eyes bulged out as his nose started bleeding a waterfall over his jaw-dropped mouth.

Urahara on the other hand didn't seem phased by his friend's naked form. Naruto was a different story as he had his hitai-ate over his eyes.

Yoruichi placed her hands on her hips as she sat down Indian-style and asked, "So what's new? This guy a friend of yours?"

Naruto nodded and then faced Jiraya. "Ero-sennin, I did what you asked. So will you help us?"

Yoruichi looked a bit confused. Urahara then said, "Naruto and I agreed that if we get him to see a beautiful woman, he'd help us out."

Yoruichi replied, "Soo desu ka?" (Is that so?) She then had a devious smile on her face as she approached Naruto and pulled up his hitai-ate causing him to blush because his eyes wandered a little too low. The devious woman pouted and started drawing circles on his chest with her finger as she said, "Ehhh, but you never wanted to see me. After all the things we've been through, a little peek won't hurt." She then grinned deviously making the young blonde fluster as he tried to crawl backwards but ended up falling on his back causing Yoruichi to sit on top of him in a very compromising position.

Jiraya burned the image into his mind and quickly pulled out his notebook and wrote faster than Kira with a Death Note. He didn't hesitate to pour all sorts of ideas until he kept the notebook and gave Naruto a thumbs-up and said, "YOSH! YOU PASS! I LOVE YOU!"

Naruto then managed to scoot away behind Urahara as Yoruichi made the victory sign with a confident smile.

She then said, "Heh. That trick never fails." She then reverted back to her cat form, saddening Jiraya into anime tears until he got another brilliant idea and wrote some more in his notebook making him the first author in that world to think of 'furry love' and nekomimi.

When the jokes died down, they got to business and Naruto revealed everything Jiraya needed to know at the moment which pretty much was the invasion of Oto and Suna, a subverted version of the elemental gods and the attempt on the Hokage's life. The perverted sage didn't press anything further than what he could comprehend and took everything in stride since he did travel for a long time.

Jiraya replied, "Wakata. But getting Tsunade here isn't going to be easy. Knowing her, she'd do everything to get out of anything involving Konoha."

Naruto then said, "Why not challenge her? I bet she'd do it if it was a gamble."

Jiraya replied, "For what? The defense of the village? She could care more about her looks than the village she came from or her country."

Naruto then said, "I can't say that it's for sure. Who knows what will happen while I'm gone."

Yoruichi then said, "Daijoubu. I'll go with Jiraiya and pick her up. It won't take long to find her." she then faced Urahara and said, "Kisuke-kun…"

Urahara wiped sweat from his brow when he said, "I haven't heard that in a while."

She then continued. "You should finish up that shield generator and reiatsu generator. Can't slack off right now."

Urahara tipped his hat as he took his bag and left while humming away. Naruto then said, "I guess that means I've got practically nothing to do for the entire month."

Before the young blonde could get up and leave, Jiraya said, "Matte." (Wait.) He then gazed in examination of the young blonde and said, "You're the spitting image of him. How long have you known?"

Naruto smiled and said, "I didn't just know. I've met him." A slight breeze passed by and Naruto faded away into the direction of the wind.

Jiraya then huffed, "Kid's got style. But now he's got me interested. Looks like I have something to come back for after all." With that, he then marched off with Yoruichi. Of course he followed close behind her towards the Hokage Tower, as the view was much better that way.

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Kakashi took a sip from a cup of coffee as he sat by a table in the back room of the shop, stacked with hundreds of tapes. Across him sat Mizore who was also drinking some coffee and Kwago beside her with a serious face.

The silver haired jounin then said, "So you originated from an island in Mizu no kuni and married a Konoha shinobi and lived here until Kyuubi ravaged your village just before it got close to Konoha. And now both of you are back here in our village." The two Akayashis nodded. Kakashi then said, "Well that's one favor down. So what about the Kekei Genkai? I didn't quite understand it. Could you clarify it for me?"

Mizore then replied,"It is called Fumetsu no senshi in your language. But in ours, we called it Waray. For every enemy we behead, we gain their lifeblood that contains their greatest source of chakra, which are signified by the bands that form on our bodies. The lifeblood grants us their otherwise remaining lifespan, and gives us accelerated healing due to stronger vitality. We can still die… it's just that it takes more than mere flesh wounds to destroy us. And as we live, the bands, one after the other, slowly grow smaller until they disappear indicating the end of a life. We live off borrowed time so the more enemies we behead, the longer we live and the stronger we get because of our strong constitution. This also means we don't age unless all our bands are gone and we live on our original lifespan."

Kakashi then said, "I've never heard of this Kekei Genkai before."

Kwago then said, "That's because you're not supposed to. The island we hail from is protected by a magical barrier that hides our presence from the world. Kirigakure isn't too keen on leaving valuable soldiers alone. Especially if they found out about our history."

Kakashi looked at him with curiosity. "Really? Is it that important?"

Kwago then said, "Have you ever heard of the Five Elemental gods?" Kakashi shook his head making Kwago's job all the more harder. Kwago then continued. "Well, they are the rulers in charge of the elements of the world. One of them was sealed away in our island." Kakashi listened intently at this point as Kwago continued his story…

IAI--IAIIAI--IAI

"The Waray bloodline started from an age old story about a young and proud warrior named Aguilar. He wanted to become the strongest warrior in the universe and set out towards the throne room of the great and powerful water dragon, Seiryu. When he found the dragon, he asked him the secret to becoming strong, but Seiryu refused to talk to him until it made the man angry.

Aguilar then challenged him in a battle for the secrets and Seiryu continued to refuse, telling him 'You won't survive if you fight me,' but the warrior charged and fought anyway. He fell several times and despite a badly beaten up and broken body, he fought hard and still refused to give up.

Seiryu eventually relented, in honor of the strong-willed warrior, and made a cut on his arm to serve as a symbol of the man's courage, persistence, and perseverance. 'You have already achieved true strength. Your will to fight and never give up is your answer. I will spare your life by giving you some of my blood as a covenant of your strength and its source.'

The dragon then cupped his blood in his other hand and let the warrior drink. Aguilar was fully healed because of the pact and ever since then became the first Waray and ancestor of all with the Waray bloodline."

IAI--IAIIAI--IAI

Kakashi had finished his cup of coffee while absorbed into the tale that Kwago shared. The old warrior then stood up and said, "I better go run the store if you don't mind." As he began to walk away, he smiled to himself, 'Not to mention leave my daughter with my future son-in-law.'

Mizore then took out a lollipop and dipped it in her half full cup and used it as a stirrer. While she stirred the drink, she then said, "Pretty far-fetched, eh?"

Kakashi replied, "It's quite amazing. But one more question…" Mizore paid close attention at this point leaving Kakashi to ask, "How old are you?"

Mizore blushed a bit and then answered, "Are you planning on asking me out?"

Kakashi then looked to the side and said, "No. Just wondering in particular."

Mizore then smiled and said, "Well, I'm as old as this village…maybe older since I lost count some time ago. Otou-san is older than me by at least three millennia."

Kakashi's visible eye turned into a saucer as his mind tried to wrap around the idea that she's that old and that her father was older than most of the trees in the forest. Mizore then giggled a bit and patted his shoulder twice as she said, "I know. I'm weird that I'd forget my own age. But when you live that long, you forget things."

Kakashi then asked, "You lost count? But the village was founded nearly a hundred years ago. How can you live…"

Mizore rolled up both her sleeves showing nine identical bands on her arms. "Although I have eighteen now, I used to have more back in the day. Tattoos don't look good on me but when you have a life like I do, you tend to find trouble wherever you go. That's why I lived for so long. As long as I keep fighting, I keep living."

Kakashi then said, "But to kill in order to live longer, that's sad."

Mizore then said, "Yes, well people come and go but it's part of life and I've come to accept that. I hope you don't mind but I have some work to do. I'll make it up to you with the tape."

Kakashi then walked out of the back room leaving her to clean up the mess. As he was about to exit the front door, he then said to Kwago, "Well I got more than I bargained for. But to fight to live seems very tiring."

Kwago then replied, "Not as tiring after each kill. Sometimes, a warrior fueled by strong emotions comes by and when we kill them, we gain their memories along with their lifeblood and the emotions they were filled with. It can make you go insane if you don't have what it takes to push it aside. It can even corrupt you and turn you into a demon since you feel the crushing of flesh and bone in your hands and the emotions that come with it. Mizore faced the full brunt of that when she took part in several wars. Not one of which were her choice. She… we lost… a lot of friends there."

Kakashi felt downtrodden by those words. He remembered Obito, Rin, and his sensei: the fourth Hokage. He then left with a heavy heart and reminiscent mind, eventually deciding to visit Ichiraku Ramen to think about everything that had happened recently.

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Ishida was on his way back to the Namikaze compound with Inoue. The orange-haired girl had earned a few admirers in the hospital; some of which where doctors. Though Ishida wasn't interested in her in that respect, she was still his friend and he needed to look out for her.

Suddenly, Inoue stopped right in the middle of the market district. Ishida then asked, "What's wrong?"

Inoue then pouted and said, "Hinata-san was really depressed when her father found that she lost to Neji-kun. I really feel bad for her."

Ishida adjusted his glasses and said, "The best we can do is bring her flowers to cheer her up. It's what my father used to do when he worked as a doctor before running the hospital."

Inoue then faced him and smiled brightly with her hands behind her back. Ishida wondered what was going through her head this time until she pumped her fist and held her right bicep with her left hand.

"Yosh!" she said. "Let's get her some flowers and some new clothes. Her old ones were badly torn after that fight."

Ishida replied, "Iie." Inoue then replied in confusion, "Nan de?"

Ishida then smiled as the light shined on his glasses. He then turned around and crossed his arms trying to look cool as he said, "Why should we buy a new set of clothes if I can repair hers?"

Inoue then laughed and said, "That's even better."

With a goal in mind, the two entered a flower shop and saw several livid and alive plants that have just bloomed. They were all freshly cut and arranged with the utmost care. At the counter of the shop stood Ino, lazily reading a magazine.

When the blonde girl heard footsteps, she monotonously said without looking, "Irashaimasen. Kono wa Yamanaka Hanaya." (Welcome. This is the Yamanaka Flower Shop.)

"Kiree. They look much healthier than the ones at home." Inoue said as she browsed through the shop. Ishida then briefly said to her, "I'll be at the arts and crafts store. I need to buy some thread for the blouse."

Inoue then faced him and nodded allowing him to walk out. Ino then allowed her chin to rest on her left hand as she asked Inoue, "Are you sure about leaving your boyfriend alone?"

Inoue then faced her and said, "Iie. He's not my boyfriend. He's a really good friend of mine." She then went closer to the counter and said as she smiled, "I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. Hajimemashte. Orihime Inoue to mooshimasu. Doozo yoroshiku." (Hello there. I'm Orihime Inoue. Pleased to meet you.)

Inoue then bowed slightly in respect.

Ino then waved her right hand dismissively and said, "It's no problem. I'm Yamanaka Ino." The blonde girl then bowed politely in return. But in the back of her mind, she thought, 'What's with this woman? Her very presence suddenly bugs me and I feel like getting out of here.'

Ino then asked, "So what sort of flower are you looking for?"

Inoue then thought for a moment before saying, "Something to cheer up a friend at the hospital."

Ino then approached a certain bouquet of yellow colored flowers and said, "Here. Nothing like sunflowers to cheer up a friend."

Inoue then took the flowers and said, "Hinata…it's perfect for her. Arigato." (Here, she's implying the meaning of the name, which is, 'Facing the sun.')

Ino's eyes widened with what she heard. "You know Hinata?"

Inoue replied, "I'm the nurse in charge of her at the hospital. She's been depressed about her loss in the preliminary matches."

Ino replied, "That's really nice of you. Oh wait, now I remember! You were there as Haku-kun explained the rules and regulations."

Inoue then smiled and said, "Hai. I was a bit shocked when Naru—I mean—I was told to be the medic on short notice."

Ino then replied, "Naru? Who's that? You're not talking about Naruto right?"

Inoue then laughed nervously and said, "Ah, nan de mo nai." (It's nothing.) "Anyway, here's the money I owe you."

Ino then took the money from the other girl's hand and said, "Matte. Do you know Naruto by the way? I was wondering if you knew him."

Inoue replied, "Well, I don't really know him. But Hinata-san talks a lot about him. She really loves that boy from what I hear from her."

Ino then said, "Oh. Sorry for the trouble. Thank you and please come again."

Inoue then nodded and stepped through the door. But she suddenly went in again and said, "Oh, and by the way, you should eat less curry. You've been eating a bowl of curry in the barbeque restaurant for lunch for the past three days so your skin is getting a little yellow. Doctor's orders." With that, Inoue walked out leaving a stunned and frantic Ino who quickly took the mirror under the counter and looked and saw she was right.

Chouji then entered the store and said, "Hey Ino, Asuma-sensei is looking for us. What's up with you?"

Ino then gazed hard at Chouji and said, "Chouji, that orange haired nurse came in. She's no ordinary nurse."

Chouji then said, "You're still at it?"

Ino replied, "That's not important. What is…is that she's sharper than she looks. She knew exactly what I've been eating and for how long and where just from a first glance. Only a skilled medical shinobi can do that. But what's strange is that her hands are not just the hands of a medic, but also of a soldier. There are calluses on her palms in a way you would hold a knife and something else."

Chouji then asked, "What do you mean something else?"

Ino then said, "Hmm…her left hand has calluses from holding a knife." She then held an imaginary knife on her left hand. "But she's holding something else at the same time from the look of her palm. And her right hand has strange calluses. Like she was holding something like this." She then fumbled with her right hand a bit before finally getting a good imprint on the figure. She raised her right hand and held an imaginary gun with the pointer resting on where the trigger would be. Though she didn't understand what was supposed to be in the right hand, she knew it wasn't an ordinary object.

Chouji on the other hand didn't quite understand what he was looking at and said, "The one on the right hand doesn't make sense to me."

Ino then said, "Me neither. But that girl…I just don't get it. She looked like a complete idiot."

Chouji then said, "I guess you were wrong this time." 'That's funny. Ino's rarely wrong about people. The only one she makes mistakes with is Naruto.'

Ino and Chouji were perplexed by the strange new people in Konoha but struck it as a mere oddity that the village was known for. When they met Shikamaru and Asuma at the training area, the two told their third wheel the entire incident. Shikamaru filed it away in his head for further usage.

After Inoue and Ishida got what they needed, the two then escaped the bustling city and into the Namikaze Home. Everyone was there with the exceptions of Urahara and Yoruichi. Though the night was young for some, but for these people, it was a tiring day and they needed to rest and replenish for the next one.

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It was the third day and Sakura was bored to death. But what kept her preoccupied were her thoughts on Sasuke and her unrequited feelings for him. She traveled aimlessly down the street as she remembered the harsh words of Sasuke that day on the preliminaries. What made it even worse was that after the preliminaries, Sasuke was brought into the hospital along with Hinata and Lee.

She walked far enough until she reached a flower shop and thought, 'I think they'll allow visitors now. Maybe I should bring him flowers when I visit.'

Ufortunately, it was at the Yamanaka Flower Shop that she ended up in. She frowned seeing Ino's predatory glare that any gossip girl had.

Ino said from over the counter, "It's quite rare for you to come buy flowers at our place."

Sakura retored, "Not really. It's rare for you to be in charge of the store as well."

Ino then said, "These days I'm always in charge. Asuma-sensei said it helps by teaching me to read people's intentions. And he was right for once."

Sakura then knelt in front of some potted plants with a smile on her face. Ino then moved to her side and said, "When you bring flowers that still have a root, people complain about it growing. That's why cut flowers are commonly chosen."

Sakura blushed and denied anything but Ino persisted and said, "Don't play dumb. There's no use in playing dumb. You're planning to visit Sasuke-kun aren't you?"

Sakura looked at her as if she was crazy. But Ino, acting quickly yelled, "Okaa-san, I'm going to leave for a while."

Sakura tried to protest but Ino made her decision. Ino then picked one rose while Sakura picked two daffodils. Ino then asked, "Two? One is enough."

Sakura replied, "One is for Lee-san too."

Ino understood and the two walked towards the hospital until they stopped and saw over the window of a barbeque shop, Anko, seated beside Asuma and Haku across them.

The two girls gaped at the amount of food that Haku was putting away with ease and a seemingly perpetual smile. Even Asuma was dumbfounded upon the unnatural ability of the teen.

Asuma then asked, "Anko, is he always like this?"

Anko cheekily replied, "What's the fuss? He's a growing boy. He needs all that energy. Right, Haku?"

Haku then nervously replied, "Ha-hai. I guess so." 'I wonder what she meant by growing boy…oh no, I think I'm getting corrupted with all the weird noises she makes at night.' The young bishounen continued scarfing down the food in order to drown away the evil thoughts.

Sakura sweatdropped and said, "I've never seen anyone eat like that except maybe Chouji on one occasion. He sure is something ne…" but when she looked at Ino, she backed away and saw the hearts in Ino's eyes.

Ino then said, "Even though he's got the appetite of Chouji, he's still so sexy in doing it!"

Sakura shook her head and asked, "Asuma-sensei, isn't Shikamaru a participant in the Chunin Exams?"

Asuma replied, "Ya but he said he wanted to do some research before he begins training."

Anko then nudged him with her elbow and said, "So you finally got to beat some sense into that kid eh?"

Asuma replied, "No, he decided it for himself. He must be trying to learn some new jutsu and battle strategies to fight in the upcoming exam. After seeing what Naruto did, he finally has motivation."

Sakura then said, "Naruto was amazing back there. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it." 'Even Naruto was much stronger than me. For once, he's shown a bit more of himself and now I don't know who he really is.'

Sakura then grabbed Ino by the shoulders and said, "We have to go Asuma-sensei. I'll see you guys in the finals." She then pulled Ino away and towards the hospital much to Ino's chagrin.

Haku finally managed to finish his meal by the time Sakura spoke and then said, "Hmm…Naruto-kun has shown so much strength lately." Asuma and Anko listened in as Haku said, "From Kanashibari no jutsu to that ability to go faster than shunsin. He's a complete mystery to me."

The two older shinobis were surprised. Since when did genin level shinobis know of an ANBU level jutsu? And the ability to move faster than shunsin…something was awfully suspicious about that.

Anko became serious and asked her charge, "How do you know that?"

Haku quickly responded before the next mouthful, "I saw him use it once. I don't know what else he knows but he must be really powerful."

Anko smirked and said, "Damn that Kakashi. He's got an Uchiha and a powerhouse."

While they were enjoying their meal, a really hungry Ichigo and a seemingly confused Rukia occupied the seats behind Haku.

Ichigo then said as he gazed at the sizzling sukiyaki cut strips, "Finally! It's been a long time since I ate at a barbeque."

Rukia then said, "It's my first time being here. So we cook our own meals?"

Ichigo replied as he flipped overstrips of meat, "That's right, you've never eaten here before. Before okaa-san died, we would eat at a barbeque restaurant once a year. I always ended up fighting against Karin for the food back then."

Rukia then rubbed her belly and thought, 'It sounds like fun to have a family you can eat with. Even at the Kuchiki Manor we ate alone.'

Ichigo then began stuffing his face with his meal until he saw Rukia's slightly distant gaze. "What's wrong? Are you remembering something?"

Rukia then said, "A little. I should bring Oni-sama to this place so that we can eat like a family."

Ichigo then snorted and said, "A place like this wouldn't suit him. He'd probably say, 'I don't waste my time with people who are beneath me.' or something like that."

Rukia then protested, "Oni-sama isn't like that! He'll definitely enjoy it here."

Ichigo then said, "We'll its no use if you haven't tried it yourself. Here-" he then picked up a sliver of meat with his chopsticks and placed some on Rukia's plate. Rukia then ate it and blushed in joy.

Rukia then said, "Oishi. So many possibilities with just cooking meat."

Ichigo then said, "Hopefully we'll still be able to eat like this when we have a family."

Rukia then lowered her head a little and said, "I'm sorry. I should do better next time and make sure."

Ichigo then blushed and looked around to see if anyone was paying attention. When the coast was clear, he then said, "It's not your fault. Even Unohana-san said she can't understand why we can't have children even though there's nothing wrong with us."

Rukia then said, "Daijobu. I'll find a way to so that we can have what you had."

Ichigo replied, "Let's just eat and forget it right now." But before he could make another bite, he remembered something. "Oh, yeah, I forgot to put the ring on." He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver ring with a small engraving of a rabbit on it. But as he was about to wear it, he fumbled and nearly dropped it into the mini grill. Good thing he had quick reflexes with his chopsticks. Unfortunately the ring was so close to the heat that it started to conduct it. It traveled up and began to burn Ichigo's hand, causing him to release the ring in bitter defeat.

Rukia then said, "Ichigo! Why did you drop it?"

Ichigo then said, "Well it was hot so it fell."

Rukia then started beating his head with a paper harisen and said, "This wouldn't happen if you had worn it in the first place."

Ichigo retorted, "Who'd wanna wear a ring with a rabbit carved on it?"

Rukia then said, "That's not important. Besides, it's a cute rabbit."

Ichigo and Rukia argued stubbornly making Asuma sweatdrop and say, "A lover's quarrel. Makes me wonder if I should have a family."

Anko then lazily replied, "If you're talking about Kurenai, then she'll be happy to help you there."

Haku blushed at Anko's innuendo while Asuma denied his relationship with the genjutsu mistress.

Despite the happy talks about relationships, one person had unrequited feelings for someone dear to her as her best friend walked beside her in the halls of the hospital with a nurse ahead of them, clipboard in hand.

The nurse then said, "You have five minutes. I cannot permit more than that. He still needs to stay in bed." The three girls then arrived at the door and the nurse knocked before she opened the door saying, "Sasuke-kun, you have guests. Two cute girls."

But when they entered, all they saw were piles of old scrolls and books neatly piled up beside his now empty bed with two really old documents and a notebook and pen on top.

The nurse dropped her clipboard and quickly searched the closet. It was empty except for the hangers on the furnished rack.

"His clothes are gone." The nurse said. "This is bad. Even though he was going to be released tomorrow morning, he'll strain himself if he went out now." The nurse then ran out to get the doctor.

Sakura and Ino then looked at the small pile of research material. Ino then asked, "What was Sasuke-kun looking for?"

Sakura replied, "He took Naruto's challenge seriously. After seeing all that Naruto was doing, he must be pushing himself to reach him."

Ino then looked at the two old documents on his bed and read them. Her eyes widened and she then said, "Sakura! You should see this."

Sakura then looked and read the documents. Her eyes widened in surprise as she said, "What the? What is this? I've never heard of this. He only said that they were the souls of the dead that would journey into the afterlife."

Ino then asked, "What do you mean?"

Sakura then replied, "We saw a hell butterfly once and Naruto said that it was the souls of the dead that would journey into the afterlife and that they are an omen of death. But this changes everything."

Ino then asked, "So the kunai, it was part of the jutsu of the yondaime hokage according to this document. And Naruto knows of it despite the fact that it was never recreated again."

Sakura then replied, "That doesn't make sense. If it died along with him, how did Naruto learn it?" she then picked up the notebook and read it, page by page. Every page showed his neat handiwork and the organized research he performed, taking things step by step until he reached the last entry on the page where he made his conclusion:

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Uzumaki Naruto…no, Namikaze Naruto isn't what he says.

Hell butterflies are also the aid of the shinigami according to the paper on the old poem.

It doesn't make sense that he knows how to use Hiraishin no jutsu and improve it. But the hell butterfly is a key to his jutsus and existence according to this document. The old poem says about the spiritual world being vastly different from our own and that the spirits would come and go with ease between worlds with the hell butterfly as the guide. It sounds absurd. But I have a hunch that the shinigami is a reason for his powers and that he somehow has a connection. The hell butterfly is proof of this. If it is right, then Naruto has entered a place that no human has entered before.

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Sakura then closed the notebook and said, "Ino, I'll go look for Kakashi-sensei. Please give the other flower to Lee for me." she then took the two documents and ran off leaving a worried Ino.

Ino then thought, 'Sakura…Sasuke-kun, something big is going to happen, I just know it.'

Sakura was about to leave the hospital until she glimpsed out the corner of her eye, Lee doing one-handed pushups and Hinata, in her regular attire except for the jacket which was a sky blue instead, watching with a worried look on her face.

Sakura then rushed to the scene as Lee fell down on his face with Hinata turning him over.

"Lee-san!" the pink haired girl shouted as Lee panted hard. Hinata then said, "Lee-san, please don't push yourself anymore. You will fall apart."

Lee, with a raspy voice said, "I won't give up. I will work hard and prove them that I can be a ninja. It's no use working hard if you don't believe in yourself."

Sakura then knelt down beside Hinata and had a sad look on her face. "Hey, Hinata-chan…"

Hinata then looked at Sakura. The pink haired girl then asked, "Why do boys push themselves so hard?"

Hinata then said, "Because they have something they want and will not stop until they get it. But even though I'm a girl, deep inside, I think the same way too."

Sakura then said, "You're so different from me. I just don't understand how you can think that way."

Hinata shook her head and said, "Although I work hard, it's no good. I always failed because I didn't have the same courage as Lee-san and everyone else."

Sakura then said, "It's okay. We all fail sometimes. But we don't have to push if we can't get it."

Hinata looked at the exhausted Lee and thought, 'I wish I could. But in the end, no one acknowledged me…If only I were stronger…no, even then it isn't enough. I should fight on and believe but…'

Suddenly, she heard a deep voice say, "wake up."

Hinata was shocked and looked around for the voice but then realized that time stood still. She then looked in front of her and saw a ghost of a black cracked egg. The egg then spoke, "you are not a failure. You were acknowledged so stop crying."

Hinata felt the sharp words in her soul. She remembered all the times her father scolded her and was about to retort until the egg said, "Just because you are suffering doesn't mean you should give up. You must struggle even more and suffer more. But never run away. Even if it's painful, pressuring you and drowning you, you must arise like a phoenix. When that time comes, you will be even more powerful."

Hinata was timid when she spoke, "But I couldn't really help at all and ended up making things worse. I'm still so weak."

The egg then spoke. "You are not weak. You are just beginning to grow stronger. You will realize everything I said when you get stronger and realize your surroundings. Though you have a vision to see it, you're like a lost prophet…always seeing the truth and refusing to acknowledge it as real in your life. Ignore the destiny that torments you and wake up. In the end, laugh at its face the way that boy is doing."

Hinata then thought, 'That's right…I mustn't forget why I am fighting in the first place. I love being a shinobi. I love being with Naruto-kun and all my friends. I love fighting even if it is dangerous and frightening. I will believe so that I can reach the same sky that Naruto-kun is in. I won't give up and simply believe.'

The egg then glowed in a silver light and cracked further until cracks were all over the shell. It then disappeared allowing time to return. Hinata then said to Sakura, "I won't give up."

Sakura was surprised. Hinata then took off her blue jacket revealing her black undershirt, and placed the jacket on top of Lee. The Hyuuga heiress then said, "Arigato Lee-san. I finally understand what your dream is. I've made my decision. And I will keep believing."

Soon a nurse came in and took Lee to his room leaving Sakura and Hinata alone in the yard. Sakura then said, "Hinata-chan, are you alright?"

Hinata replied, "Hai. In fact, I feel much better now. I'm going to see Kurenai-sensei. Even though I lost the match, I will keep on training. Someday, I'll get there with everyone else."

Sakura then said, "You really are something Hinata. I don't feel like losing anymore."

With that they parted ways and Hinata went to train with Kurenai while Sakura returned with Ino back at their respective homes.

Though they didn't know it, Sasuke was training by the cliffs with Kakashi. The raven-haired boy then lifted his right arm and aimed his pointer and middle finger at a rock with a three-pronged kunai stuck to it and said, "Hado number four, byakurai!"

But what came out was a spark of static electricity that zapped him back, causing him to fall down from the shock and exhaustion of doing it more than once.

Kakashi then said, "Maybe if you wait long enough, you might be able to copy his jutsu with your Sharingan."

Sasuke then got up and thought, 'I won't lose to him. I'll find the secret and learn how to do it. I'll get stronger and surpass him and Him.'

Kakashi then said, "Well you can work on it later. First, I will teach you how to do my original jutsu." Sasuke then made a small smile at this prospect. Kakashi then replied, "But only if you rest for now. We have an entire month to finish this so relax and get some rest."

Sasuke then turned around and said, "Don't even try to leave."

He then walked away into the distance to rest. When Sasuke was no longer in range of sight and sound, the silver haired jounin then lifted his hitai-ate and looked at his surroundings with both eyes. He then faced a large rock and aimed his right hand at it and said, "Dissintegrate, Roddanni's black dog! Read, Burn, and Devour your own Throat! Bakudo number nine, Geki!"

A small flash of red light flew from his hand and smashed the rock. But incidentally, Kakashi flew back as well and fell on his back. The jounin then said, "Looks like I'm not the only one who can do that." He tried to get up but his body refused and he felt exhaustion take over causing him to faint from the endeavor.

Three more days have passed and still no sign of Sand or Sound movement in Konoha. Everyone was at peace at the moment. Naruto walked down the path to the hospital to visit his friend Lee who he found out was still there. Beside him was Ichigo in his human form.

It had been a while since the two saw each other but given the circumstances, they see each other roughly everyday. Naruto then said to Ichigo, "So you've been kicked out of your room for losing the ring?"

Ichigo nodded. Naruto then said, "That sucks. But then again, I can't see Hinata at the moment either. She's been training without interruption and I'm worried."

Ichigo then said as the two arrive at the hospital, "I can understand though. She really wants to get stronger so that she can fight alongside you."

Naruto replied as they entered the doors, "I want to help her but, she told me that she wants to learn on her own so that she can stand on her own. All I can do now is support her."

Naruto then asked the attendant the room of Lee and was given the room number. Ichigo then went into the staff's locker room and changed into a doctor's attire to look for Ishida and Inoue who had been taking the doctor role a little too seriously. But considering their backgrounds, it was to be expected.

Naruto was down the halls and up the stairs into the hallway where Lee would be until he saw Shikamaru in the same hallway. The young blonde then said, "Not expecting to see you here."

Shikamaru turned around and said, "Why are you here?"

Naruto replied, "I'm here to see fuzzy eyebrows. How about you?"

Shikamaru then said, "I heard from Ino that one of the medic nins in the preliminaries works here and I wanted to find out. I still haven't found the secrets to the kunai."

Naruto then said, "That's too bad. You better hurry if you want to beat Sasuke."

Suddenly, the young blonde felt an all too familiar reiatsu signature that spiked with killing intent. He then remembered why. The young blonde then said, "Shikamaru, where's Lee's room? Something doesn't feel right."

Shikamaru then sniffed the air and said, "I may not have a nose like Kiba but something isn't right. He's up the next floor."

The two boys then ran up the floor as quickly as they could until they reached Lee's room and saw his door slightly opened. They could hear the sound of sand slithering about in the room. Shikamaru then took a peek and performed his jutsu as quickly as possible and caught Garaa in the nick of time before he could crush Lee in his sleep.

The sand jinchuriki then thought, 'My body…won't move.'

Suddenly, Garaa was punched in the face by a fearless young blonde, causing him to stagger back a bit. But since Shikamaru was using the Kagemane no jutsu, he too staggered back and said, "Hey Naruto, when I'm using the Kagemane no jutsu, I move along with him. Got it?" 'That one was horrible. For a moment I felt my life span suddenly shorten.'

Naruto apologized to Shikamaru as Garra's suna no tate was corroding away on the side of his face that Naruto punched. It was corroding a lot faster than Garra expected but that wasn't important. Garaa knew that he was in a tight spot but a hardened shinobi like him wasn't fazed one bit as shown by his cold green eyes. However, Gaara's steel gaze could not pierce Naruto's resolve. Naruto then calmly exhaled and said to the redhead, "You tried to do what I think you would've done if someone didn't stop the match. So why do you want him dead? You already won the match."

Gaara then said, "Because I want him dead."

Naruto then replied, "That's selfish. Don't let your inner demon crush you. Shukaku isn't your master. You are."

Gaara then said, "I don't understand. How do you know about me?"

Naruto then said, "It takes a jinchuriki to understand another."

Shikamaru then thought, 'What are they talking about? What is a jinchuriki? Now I'm confused."

Naruto said, "It doesn't matter that you were treated harshly and lived like you're worth less than crap. You can change. You need to earn their love, by showing yours over and over again till they get sick of it. I know my people did."

Gaara then replied, "Love? Don't measure me by your values. People are just lumps of meat linked by hatred and murderous intent. I stole my mother's life and was created to become the village's masterpiece. And as the Kazekage's son, my father taught me the secrets of ninja techniques. I grew up after being overprotected, spoiled and alone. I thought that was love…until that incident."

Shikamaru asked, "What?"

Naruto then said, "Your father tried to assassinate you several times because he thought the demon inside of you was a threat."

Garra smiled wildly and said, "Yes…that's right. For the past six years he tried and failed."

Shikamaru then said, "But you said that he spoiled you. So what do you mean?"

Gaara then said, "A being that is too strong eventually becomes an embodiment of fear. Since I was born from the usage of a jutsu, my mind was unstable. The idiots in my village finally noticed that my emotions were unpredictable. To the Kazekage…my father, I was the village's trump card. At the same time I was a threat. After I turned six, it seems that they classified me as a dangerous being. I was the village's dangerous tool, but still handled with care. I am only a relic of the past that they want to get rid of. So why do I exist and live? I asked myself that question, but could not find an answer. But I need those reasons while I am still alive or it would be the same as me being dead."

Shikamaru muttered, "What is he talking about?" However, Naruto understood and felt great sorrow for Gaara's loss. He wanted so much to help him but some things need to come at their own pace and he knew that these were one of those times. Naruto patiently listened as his conviction strengthened.

Gaara then continued. "And this is what I concluded. I exist to kill everyone other than me. I finally found relief inside the fear of being assassinated at any time. By killing the assassins, I was able to recognize my reason to live. I fight only for myself, and only love myself. I as long as I think that other people exist to make me feel that, the world is wonderful."

Naruto then said, "That is the most selfish and evil things I have ever heard." Gaara smiled a little but it soon went away when he saw Naruto smile so genuinely. The young blonde then said, "I know how you got there and I understand. But you know what, there is a better way. Tell me, why does the moon have light when only the sun emanates light?"

Gaara couldn't answer so Naruto replied for him. "It has light because the sun provided light for it. No one is perfect. Everyone is just like the moon, looking for light that only the sun provides. Everyone has his or her own pains that show their weaknesses and the darkness in them. But when they do find that light that can change them and set them free, they become like a bright full moon…a light for others to follow. It was the same for me. You are not alone Gaara. There are seven other jinchurikis that share the same fate and more people who are suffering. The reason we wage war, is not because we want to kill all those who hate us, but to achieve peace because the other person is struggling and does not understand. There is no place the light cannot reach. But what we do with that light is what matters most. I won't give up on believing in that light. And I won't give up on you either because I know that deep inside, you still have that light."

Gaara then lowered his head and shut his eyes. He then said, "You are foolish." His sand then flared up and was about to strike the two boys down until Ichigo entered and said, "Stop this right now!"

Gaara stopped and saw the orange haired man in a doctor's attire. Naruto sighed as Gai also entered the scene. Gai then said, "The main matches will be held three weeks from now. There is no need to get hasty. Or do you want to get hospitalized today?"

Gaara was losing his cool at the sight of Gai. Ichigo saw this and was about to act until he saw the sand return to the gourd and Gaara take control once again. Gaara then slowly left the room but not before saying, "I will kill you guys for sure. Just you wait."

When Gaara left, Ichigo then ranted, "Who the hell does he think he is? Ulquiorra? Man that kid is scary." He then went over to check on Lee and saw that the sleeping boy was alright. He then said to the small group in the room, "Let's leave for now. He needs rest."

The small group then left the room and Shikamaru noticed something familiar. 'That doctor looks like the bunshin of Naruto's jutsu.'

Gai then said to the three, "Arigato gozaimashta for protecting Lee. I will never forget this."

Naruto then said, "It's nothing. Oh yeah…" the young blonde then took ot of his pocket a semi transparent, white, round fruit. It looked like glass but was softer to the touch. He then handed the strange fruit to Gai and said, "Lee-san should eat this. It will help him recover. I have a lot of those growing in my house."

Gai then said, "I will make sure to give it to him."

Naruto then said, "I'll be seeing you guys in the finals." With that, he turned around and walked out.

Gai then went to get some refreshments leaving Ichigo with Shikamaru. The lazy genius then asked, "Umm…do you know Namikaze Naruto?"

Ichigo then carelessly said, "Well, kinda."

Shikamaru found his chance and asked, "Did you know that he made a jutsu that involved your image in a black hakama with a giant sword as a weapon?"

Ichigo then said, "I never knew that." He then accidentally mumbled, "It would've been better if he chose Zaraki instead of me being his worst fear. Not to mention Byakuya as the second form."

Shikamaru heard it and then thought, 'So the plot thickened. At least I know this guy HAS a connection with Naruto.' The lazy genius then said, "You're a doctor right? Do you know a medic nin with glasses, one with long orange hair and a short black haired woman?"

Ichigo got what was going on at this point and said, "There are plenty of people like that here, so, yes." But as the orange haired man was about to turn around, Inoue then came running in and said, "Kurosaki-kun! Daihen! There's a patient who needs to be operated on immediately." Ichigo then ran after her with Shikamaru smiling at what he found.

The lazy genius then thought, 'Bingo. It's all coming together. His name is Kurosaki. That woman he's with is Orihime Inoue according to Ino. And putting it together, he knows the other two and knows Naruto and incidentally Hinata from what I heard. Naruto must know them since he ends up here pretty often ever since the academy. But now things are getting even more mysterious.'

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A week had passed since the preliminaries. Shikamaru was deep into his research about the three-pronged kunai within his room. Books were everywhere and a lot of instant ramen cups littered the floor. He may be lazy, but he does keep clean so this was something out of the ordinary for him. More so that he was sitting on the floor and from the looks of things, he hasn't moved since dawn.

The lazy genius had a bored expression on his face when he closed the last book and said, "Damn. I didn't think it would be this hard."

The door swung open to reveal his father with the hereditary expression of the Nara Clan…boredom. The man then scratched his head and said, "I think you should clean up this mess. Kaa-san is angry at me for not scolding you about it."

Shikamaru replied, "I will as soon as I'm done."

Shikaku Nara looked at the mess in the room. 'Look at this place. It looks like the codebreaker's office with all the piles of papers and scrolls everywhere. Not even Hokage-sama has this much of a stack. Wait…It's not a stack, it's a small forest of books.'

Shikaku then knelt down beside his son on the floor and took a peek at what he was reading. "Custom made kunais. Haven't heard of one since the reign of the fourth Hokage."

The lazy genius then looked at his father with surprise written all over his face. He then asked, "Are you saying that the fourth Hokage had custom made kunais?"

Shikaku then pulled out a three-pronged kunai from his holster and said as he showed the kunai, "It was part of the fourth Hokage's infamous jutsu—Hiraishin no Jutsu. The jutsu allowed him to instantaneously move from one place to another before you can blink. All you would see is a yellow blur that gave him the nickname, The Yellow Flash."

Shikamaru went wide-eyed but refused to comment since his father continued. "But that's not the best part. The jutsu doesn't need handseals to be performed."

Shikamaru then continued the sentence with shock still on his face. "All it needed was the kunai as the anchor for him to travel to. An advanced space-time jutsu." The lazy genius sweatdropped as he thought, 'Why didn't I ask him about this in the first place? Mendokuse…I got lost in my own thoughts that I forgot about outside possibilities.'

Shikaku then said, "I doubt you'll be able to recreate the jutsu since it was lost with the fourth Hokage. Although I did hear rumors that his master, Jiraya-sama, mastered the other original jutsu of the fourth."

Shikamaru then pulled out a small sheet of paper with the unique seal written on it and showed it to his father. "Otou-san, have you ever seen a seal like this before?"

Shikaku then said, "I'm no archaeologist so, no. It looks like a foreign language."

Shikamaru replied, "It does doesn't it? I barely got to understand it past the line that says, Viti de Legno sepolte in…"

Suddenly, Shikaku and Shikamaru then felt an awfully familiar cold chill up their spines that told their barely used brains that the dragon of the family was pissed as hell. And true enough, karma bit them in the butt when she berated them more so than usual. Firstly it was because they didn't come down to show their faces and secondly because Shikamaru acted differently today. The lazy genin, as quickly as his rarely used adrenaline could, ran out of the house with a small notebook in hand.

Shikamaru then thought to himself as he wandered the streets aimlessly, 'The kunai was created by the fourth Hokage during his short reign which included The Great Shinobi Wars in the timeframe. At least I have a lead. But it's too early to celebrate.'

He then raised his head from his thinking position only for his eyes to meet with a fiery red headed man with his hair in a high ponytail and wore a white bandana on his head. But Shikamaru knew that this man was dangerous from the tattoos on his forehead and his stance despite the gray hooded jacket, brown pants and black boots he wore.

The thuggish looking man then replied with a bored tone, "Move it gaki. And pay attention or you could've bumped into a lamppost."

Shikamaru then sighed. 'This guy's like an adult version of Kiba. At least he's politer.'

Shikamaru made a lazy pardon and walked a few steps before the man turned around and tapped him on the shoulder. Shikamaru turned around and said, "What now?"

The red head had a faint blush on his face and crossed his arms and looked to the side. He then said with a little arrogance in his voice, "Che. You kids these days don't have a shred of respect. I outta beat some sense into ya."

Shikamaru didn't want to waste time on this guy and opted to turn around but instead asked, "What do you want? I don't have a lot of time on my hands."

The red head then rubbed his face a bit and asked with a straight face, "Um…do you know where the Hokage Tower is?"

The lazy genius then said, "Just go left, make a right turn at the next stop and just past the third dormitory on that street you'll find it. How long have you been here?"

The guy then replied, "More than a week." Shikamaru was about to face fault. He then thought, 'Chikusho. I really want to look at the clouds today. But the guy doesn't look like the bright type.'

He then escorted the man into the Hokage Tower and into the Hokage's Office where much to Shikamaru's surprise, he saw an orange haired man in a black shirt, jeans and sneakers, an orange haired woman that he knew from Ino's description was Orihime Inoue wearing a purple blouse, gray track pants and shinobi sandals, a shorter, black haired woman wearing a green jacket over a white shirt, a matching skirt, long black socks with brown leather shoes, a black haired man with glasses in all white even a white muffler and a utility belt strapped around his waist with several pouches and steel sticks attached, and a darker skinned man of a different race from what he could tell with messy brown hair, a sleeveless black jacket with red shirt underneath and black jeans along with worker boots.

The orange haired man then said, "What took you so long Renji? Sereitei is bigger than Konoha and you got lost?"

Renji then went up to Ichigo's face and said, "Oi, I didn't get lost! I was busy doing a lot of stuff. And besides, there's too many people and weird buildings, who wouldn't get lost."

Ishida then adjusted his glasses and said, "Baka. You just admitted that you got lost."

Renji was about to argue with him until Rukia cleared her throat and said, "Tonikakun, let's do what we came here for."

Inoue and Chad nodded in reply. Seeing that he was out of place, Shikamaru decided to slink away to the door until the double doors opened to reveal his remaining team members and his sensei.

He was 'thrilled' seeing their faces. Asuma then said, "Eh? So you were here all this time."

Ino then saw Inoue in the same room and felt threatened by her presence. Chouji then walked up to Shikamaru and asked, "Why weren't you at home?"

Shikamaru lazily replied, "I was still doing research."

Before the small talk could move further, Sarutobi cleared his throat, quickly grabbing their attention. He then said, "I have a mission for all of you."

Ino protested. "A mission? Are these guys shinobi?"

The Hokage replied, "Yes, Ino. They will help you with a problem underground."

Ichigo and Shikamaru both asked, "What kind of problem?" this earned looks from both sides and even themselves. But the staredown was cut short when the Hokage cut in by saying, "We've received reports of strange creatures lurking in the sewers and underground passages. One of our own has been attacked but he got out safely and is in the hospital. But psychologically, he's still worn out and kept screaming masked monster with a hole in its heart." Ichigo's team sharpened when they heard this making Team Asuma wary of the other team.

The Hokage then said, "This is a C Rank, reconnaissance mission. If there is anything down there, avoid battle at all cost. We want you all back in one piece. Especially since one of you is part of the Final Exam. Asuma will lead so if there isn't anything else, then you're dismissed."

They politely walked out and headed towards their destination. It didn't take long to reach the sewer entrance since Asuma was familiar with the place for some reason.

They stopped right in front of a large and dark tunnel that was the main sewage pipeline that had a diameter of twelve feet and a foul stench. Sewage water could be seen trickling out into the vat that recycled the water while Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji held their noses in disgust while the rest of the joint team seemed to be immune to the stench.

Ishida then said, "So this is it. This looks like a place that could hide a monster. We'll most likely need to split up at the intersection up ahead."

Ino then said, "So who made you leader?"

Inoue then said, "Ishida-kun, let's just follow them okay? They know more of this place than we do."

Asuma then said, "Alright. Since there's no more arguments, let's head in. It will be dark so we have to stick together. Light up your torches."

All of them took out a torch and lit it up and entered the sewers. They traveled deep inside and Ino and Chouji kept their noses covered. While rats roamed around the ground, Ichigo then said, "A place like this is bound to be big. How far do we go?"

Asuma then said, "According the shinobi's report, it's in the main sewage passageway he saw the monster. Its not that far now so prepare for anything."

Ishida then looked to Rukia and both nodded. Inoue then looked to the two and nodded as well. Chad then grabbed onto Ichigo's shoulder and Ichigo knew what that meant. The orange haired man then stepped in front of Team Asuma and said, "It's near. Follow my lead."

Shikamaru then said, "You seem to know what you're doing. What is this thing anyway?"

Ichigo then crouched and slowly moved forward. The others followed suit and moved as he did till they entered the main intersection. It was like a tall tower with only the wall lamps as the guide to its immense size. Several pipes jut out of the tower with water flowing from them like a waterfall to the open ended pipes that made a metal jungle of the entire room leaving only the center as the only dry place.

Renji then said, "Do you see it?"

Rukia then went over the area near a broken pipe and felt the ground. She then said, "The reiatsu here is fresh. It's confirmed."

Ishida then looked around and said, "The place is crawling with them. How did they get in though?"

Chouji then said, "What are you guys talking about?"

Asuma then asked, "Please explain."

Inoue then said, "We've seen these things before so don't worry about it. Besides, we are just investigating so we won't fight it here unless we are forced to."

But like the way karma does things, the suddenly heard eerie howling sounds coming from all over the place. They looked around, hoping that the source was just the wind or the echo of the vermin that lived in these parts.

They felt the cold chill up their spines that told them they would face many enemies and knew how bad things would get if the enemy had the advantage. Ishida then thought, 'They have the advantage. The Konoha shinobis aren't prepared to fight what they can't see. But we can't fight recklessly either. Every one of these pipes is flowing with water and we would drown if we accidentally destroy any one of them.'

But before they had time to react, Chad suddenly rushed to Asuma ready to give a right hook. Shikamaru saw this and tried to do some handseals only for Chad to rush by and punch a hollow over Asuma's right shoulder.

The hollow flew back to the wall that wasn't filled with pipes and its imprint could be seen. Team Asuma looked to where Chad punched and saw the imprint on the wall.

Rukia then pulled out two wakizashis from inside her jacket and tossed one to Ichigo and the strawberry shinigami rushed and cut the hollow in half before it could recuperate leaving it to disappear as sparkles of light which Team Asuma was able to see.

Ino then said, "What was that?"

Rukia then said, "That was the monster that was lurking in here. It was about to eat Asuma-dono if Chad and Ichigo didn't stop it."

Chouji then said, "Chad? Ichigo?"

Rukia then said, "I'm sorry. We forgot to introduce ourselves. I am Kurosaki Rukia."

Chad then said, "Yasutora Sado."

Renji then said, "Abarai Renji."

Inoue then said, "Orihime Inoue."

Ishida then said, "Uryuu Ishida."

Ichigo said as he sheathed the wakizashi, "Kurosaki Ichigo."

Ino, Asuma and Shikamaru couldn't hold it anymore and started laughing much to Ichigo's chagrin as the three laughing people dropped their torches.

Ino then said, "Ichigo?! What kind of a name is that?"

Ichigo then said, "It means 'one who protects' you idiots!"

Chouji rubbed his belly and said, "Now I'm hungry for Ichigo."

Rukia sweatdropped and thought, 'The way he said it doesn't sound right.'

The laughing died down and Asuma then said, "Arigato Kurosaki-san. Since you're familiar with this, please tell us in detail what we're up against here."

Ichigo had no choice and explained. "That monster that nearly tore you apart was a hollow. They are evil spirits that couldn't pass on to the other life."

Shikamaru then said, "Spirits? Are you serious? Is that why we couldn't see it? Then how come you were able to?"

Ishida then said, "That's because we are more spiritually sensitive so we can see them as clear as day. Shinobi use chakra to perform jutsus by mixing physical and spiritual energy. But this world doesn't have a strong affinity spiritually so its tendency is still physical in nature making it hard to see things of the other origin."

Asuma then said, "I've never heard of anything like this before. But in any case, they're dangerous and literally invisible. We better inform Hokage-sama immediately."

But as they were about to exit, another hollow appeared at the tunnel they came from, blocking their path. Ichigo drew his sword along with Rukia. Chad transformed his right arm into his black and red one, Ishida then drew his Quincy bow and Inoue stood in the back with Renji and Team Asuma who was utterly shocked by sight of their ally's weapons.

Renji then said, "Shit. There's more." True enough, twenty hollows appeared from above and surrounded the entire task force. Renji then brought out a wakizashi from inside his jacket and took a defensive stance while Inoue had her shield at the ready. At this point, everyone else dropped their torches.

Asuma armed himself with his trench knives while Ino readied a kunai. Chouji and Shikamaru took a defensive stance.

The lazy genin then said, "Mendokuse. I can only see a silhouette of them."

Ino chimed in, "Same here." Chouji then said, "I can't see any of them! I don't want to become lunch!"

The hollows drew closer and roared, alerting their presence to the task force. The hollow in front of Chouji leaped at him only to be felled by an arrow fired from Ishida. The hollows then attacked one after the other.

Chad took down two with one blow of his El Directo. Renji was busy fighting four while Rukia and Ichigo fended of five each leaving Inoue, Ishida and Team Asuma to fight the other three.

Ino ducked and side rolled to the side to evade one of the hollows only to bump into another. The hollow tried to attack until a black paper crane cut through it leaving it to disappear as sparks of light. Inoue then stood in front of Ino and used Santen Kesshun to protect her.

"Are you okay Ino-san?" Inoue asked. Ino then replied, "Yes. Thank you."

Asuma then located the other free hollow that attacked Ino earlier. He then said, "Shikamaru, hold him down for me."

The lazy genius then did several handseals and said, "Kagemane no jutsu."

The shadow held the hollow in place just long enough before Shikamaru let go of the jutsu to allow Asuma to cut of its arms with his trench knives. Unfortunately, the limbs grew back again almost as soon as it was cut making the two sigh as the hollow returned to its attack on the two.

Chouji didn't know what was going on since he could not see his opponents. Ishida then said to the plump boy, "What are you doing? Get behind Inoue-san. You're just a liability here."

Ishida then fired another arrow at the hollow in between the eyes. Chouji did as he was told but his ego was bruised and wounded. Ino then said to Ishida, "Oi, bakero! Leave Chouji alone. He may be big but he's got a better personality than you."

Chouji then thought, in relief, 'Big boned people must be in now!' Unfortunately, Ino then faced Chouji and said, "What the hell are you doing standing around there like a doofus? Let's show them what the Ino-Shika-Cho can do."

Inoue then widened her shield in a triangle formation around herself and the two behind her. Ino accidentally touched the shield and got zapped. Inoue then said, "I know you want to help but I'm afraid I can't let you. You might get hurt or worse, turned into one of them if you get eaten."

Ino and Chouji grew paler at the thought of that. Their fear suddenly grew a little more as Renji managed to kill two of his four opponents. The red haired shinigami then said, "Hehehe. You guys are nothing compared to the guys I've faced. If it wasn't for this body and sword, I'd've cut you before you can blink." The two hollows then opened their mouths and charged up a cero making Renji a bit worried. Rukia saw this and disengaged from her enemies and leaped up and shifted her sword to her left and aimed her right hand on the two hollows and said, "Bakudo number four, Hainawa!"

The energy rope tied the two hollows together in a way that they were facing each other causing the two hollows to open fire on each other. The explosion pushed Renji back a little while the shockwave rang around the room. As Rukia landed, Ishida fired five consecutive shots at the hollows Rukia disengaged from, ending their lives. Ichigo then cleaved down his five hollows with ease allowing the team to relax as Chad finished the last hollow for Shikamaru and Asuma. Inoue disengaged the shield allowing the two genins to step out. Ichigo then said, "Is everyone alright?" they all nodded. Asuma then said, "Let's hurry out before more show up."

But as they were about to leave, a knife zoomed by from above and struck Asuma's right ankle causing the man to stumble forward only to be caught by Shikamaru and Chad.

They looked above to see a rain of knives of all sizes and shapes pouring down, ready to turn them into a pincushion. Inoue then brought up the Santen Kesshun over all of them as Ishida looked for the source.

While the knives pounded the surroundings, Ino pulled out the knife from Asuma's ankle and said, "Where is it all coming from?"

Renji replied, "Whoever he is, he's good. He's firing that many knives per second."

Ishida then said, "I found him. He's on the highest pipe."

Rukia then said, "Alright. Let's take him." Inoue widened the shield giving enough room for Rukia as she spun her sword to resemble the blades of a spinning fan and saying, "Hado number fifty eight, Tenran!" Inoue then opened a hole in her shield allowing the tempest of wind to blow away the blades back to the opponent hiding in the top. Ishida then fired a thousand two hundred arrows per second, overwhelming his opponent's knives by a vast number and giving Team Asuma the shock of their lives. Ichigo and Renji leaped out and used shunpo to steadily reach the top as the rain of knives continued. Chad then fired several energy blasts to clear the path further for Renji and Ichigo. But suddenly, the rain of knives stopped and became a rain of grenades and knives attached with explosive tags. Ichigo and Renji leaped back down as the explosives lit the ceiling with fire while smoke fogged the air and shrapnel rained down heavily upon them. Unfortunately, the pipelines were blown to bits as well allowing the pipes and rubble to fall into the mix with water spraying everywhere making it worse.

The group then split up and ran in different pipelines to avoid the chaos in that room. Ichigo, Chad and Shikamaru went through one pipe, Asuma, Ishida and Renji the next, Inoue and Ino in the next, leaving Rukia and Chouji in the last.

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Ichigo looked back and saw that the entrance was blocked. He knew that he was in a bad position and there was no way out. Shikamaru then said, "We're cut off. We need to regroup as quickly as possible."

Chad then said, "Is there a way out Shikamaru-san?" Shikamaru then sat in his meditative position to think. But unlike him, Ichigo would rather act. Ichigo then said, "We can't sit around like this. Whoever that guy was just wants to blow us up. Chad, let's go." Ichigo moved ahead until he looked back and saw the other two still on their spot. Chad then said, "Let's wait first. We don't even know where we're going."

Ichigo sighed and sat down to Shikamaru's level, trying to understand what the younger lad was doing. Ichigo went a little closer until Shikamaru opened his eyes, scaring the shinigami.

Shikamaru then said, "I have a plan to catch this guy and meet up with the others."

Ichigo then said, "So how do we do that from down here?"

Shikamaru replied, "We got separated into four groups. Asuma-sensei, Ishida and Renji are in the north pipe while we're in the northwest. Inoue and Ino are in the east pipe while Rukia and Chouji are in the southwest. All the pipes lead to other sewage entrances but have to go through the main sewage plant. We can find them there by going through the small vents that lead to the top to exhale the toxic fumes. It's big enough for one person to crawl through at a time and we'll be less likely to get targeted by that maniac. Once we get to the main plant, we can open the emergency cables to the other entrances and fix the pipes so that they end up walking into the main one."

They then walked along the pipeline and saw the ventilation shaft and crawled into it with Shikamaru leading, Chad behind him and Ichigo as the last. Ichigo then asked as he crawled on his belly, "Shikamaru-san, how did you know about this place?"

The lazy genius then said, "I read maps on Konoha while I was researching. So I have a vague idea of this place."

Ichigo then said as they continued crawling, "You don't look like the type who'd research on purpose. I bet you'd rather sleep on the grass and watch the clouds."

Shikamaru then said, "You're not so bad when you use your brain more. What made you think that?"

Ichigo then said, "That's exactly what I would do."

Chad kept his silence as they reached the top and pushed the vent screen over and landed in the walkway where the main control panel stood in the center of the rectangular room. It was a single walkway with several large pipes underneath that run along through like a highway. It wasn't that bad to fall since the pipes were so close together that you could walk across them although the higher jut pipes made it a bit troubling. In fact, the pipes themselves were the flooring. At the corner of the room was a platform that allowed travel much easier in the dynamically large room that was almost as large as the Konoha stadium. Shikamaru then quickly went to the panel and saw the controls for the pipelines.

Chad then said, "I feel them. They're close. But someone else is as well."

Ichigo then said, "It must be that guy who attacked us. He's still around here." the orange haired man then said, "Shikamaru, keep track of everyone. Chad, I'll go look for that guy and beat some sense into him."

Suddenly a knife zoomed by aiming to take down Shikamaru with a headshot if Chad didn't catch it in the last minute. On the opposite side of the room, standing on a moveable platform, they saw a fat man wearing dog's mask and a blue beanie to cover his shaved head. He wore heavy Kevlar armor underneath a red shirt with the kanji for raccoon on it and gray shorts under his large belly and black shinobi sandals and a gold watch on his left wrist and a silver ring on the same hand. The only weapons he seemed to carry were a slingshot and a set of knives in different sizes on his belt.

The man then said, "You guys really piss me off with all your running around like that. Now I'm gonna get you good."

Shikamaru then asked, "Who are you?"

The fat man replied, "I am Polgas. And I will cut and cook you guys for dinner before I blow this place up like New Year's Eve!"

The three were shocked at what they heard. Ichigo then quickly went to the control panel and took the intercom and started shouting on it to warn his comrades in arms…

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Asuma, Ishida and Renji ran through the pipe while hollows chased them from behind. Every once in a while, Ishida would fire his bow to hold them back, but they kept on coming."

Ishida then asked, "So why are we running again?"

Asuma replied, "Because the water pressure surrounding us could kill us if we accidentally made a hole in the pipe."

Renji then said, "We're going end up worse if we don't stop them."

Asuma then said, "There's an intersection up ahead. Lets take the left path." But when they got there, it was sealed. Renji then took out his wakizashi and cleaved the gate in half to reveal a downhill sewage pipe with water running in it. Ishida then grabbed the other half of the gate and said to Asuma who was fending off hollows, "Get on!"

Asuma didn't understand why but he got on anyway along with Renji who aimed his right hand at the group of hollows and said, "Hado number thirty one, shakkaho!"

The red flames then blasted the hollows and gave the trio the initial push on the makeshift snowboard of steel that they rode on. Renji and Asuma were screaming on their way down the pipeline while Ishida steered. However some of the hollows followed them down. Ishida then said, "Hold on!" the other two held the steel board and Ishida steered it so that it began skating on the ceiling temporarily. Using the window of opportunity, the hollows charged forward allowing Ishida to fire his arrows from above with ease, eliminating the hollows as he steered the metal board using the other side of the pipe and back down.

But just when things got fun, they ended up at a dead end that led to an unfinished part of the pipe. The three then jumped at the last second and landed on the other side as the metal board fell into the darkness.

Asuma then said, "That was the most fun I've had in years. Too bad it can't happen again."

Renji then said, "Well at least we got out alive." He then saw an intercom on a wall across him and what looks like a gate. He then went over to it and pressed the talk button and said, "Oi, is anyone there? Can someone open this gate?"

Suddenly the gate opened and revealed Rukia and Chouji on the other side. Renji smiled seeing a familiar face. Asuma then said, "Where are the others?"

Rukia replied, "I'd like to ask you that as well."

Suddenly the intercom barked, "Rukia, Inoue, Ishida! Is anyone there? Can you hear me?"

Rukia then answered as she looked at the number printed on the wall, "Hai. Were here inside an unfinished pipeline. Pipeline six to be exact."

Ichigo then said, "Get out of there! The maniac rigged this place to blow up any second now!"

Asuma then asked, "What do you mean? Where are the bombs planted?"

Chouji then said, "Asuma-sensei, we need to find Ino and Inoue-san."

Renji then said, "Let's go find Ichigo and Chad first. They're most likely with that maniac and need help."

Ishida then nodded and said, "The guy probably has the remote for the bombs and we'll be able to find out what he's doing here and why are there this many hollows here."

The group then ran inside the side stairs that led to the control room.

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Chad had his right arm in its shield mode to defend against the knives thrown at him by Polgas. Ichigo was walking on what was left of the pipes from accidentally tripping a claymore and leaping out using his inhuman speed. He tried to get closer but only made it halfway with the rest of the claymores planted on several pipelines and grenades thrown at him. That and the fact that Polgas kept on moving the damned platform he was riding on. Luckily, Polgas wasn't that accurate and Ichigo batted away the grenades that could've blown apart Chad and Shikamaru with his wakizashi

Shikamaru couldn't use his jutsu on him since his shadow couldn't reach him from the levitated position Polgas was in. He looked for the switch to stop the platform but the remote had been removed from the controls along with the wiring.

Shikamaru thought, 'He hotwired the controls. Looks like I have to find those bombs manually at this rate.'

Polgas then shouted, "Die bastards, die!" he then loaded several more knives on his slingshot and fired away at Ichigo who deflected them with ease. Ichigo moved closer and jumped at him. Polgas got the jump on Ichigo, however, and threw a smokebomb, blinding Ichigo at the last second. The fat man then threw a clay-like substance that hit Ichigo straight on the chest. But what was unusual about it is that it had a small timer on it.

Ichigo fell back and luckily landed on one of the sturdier pipes and saw the substance on his shirt. He didn't want to think what it was and removed his shirt knowing that it would be hard to remove it by hand. Unfortunately, the substance exploded, sending Ichigo flying to the other side of the room with burns and shrapnel all over his body. Chad then threw an energy blast at the fat man who evaded it with ease, considering the distance he was in. Polgas moved the platform to the rightmost corner as he got out a bottle of dust from his pocket, opened it, and spread the dust in the air. He then made handseals and said, "Doton, Ishi Koutetsu no Jutsu!" the dust then changed into hundreds of knives of different sizes and shapes and flew towards the entire crew. Chad then shielded himself and Shikamaru took cover behind the control panel while Ichigo lay down, avoiding the knives.

Ichigo then thought, 'If only I could get out of my body…that's it!'

Ichigo then took out substitute shinigami badge and was about to use it until an arrow of pure energy flew and struck the platform cable Polgas was on, causing it to stop.

Ichigo sat up and saw that Ishida, Asuma, Rukia, Chouji, and Renji were around the control panel along with Chad and Shikamaru.

Ichigo then said, "Ishida! You made it in time."

Ishida then said, "Looks like I always have to save the day."

Polgas then took out a remote and pushed the button. Asuma saw this and said, "Shit! We're too late!"

Polgas laughed his heart out for a few seconds till he realized nothing was exploding. The fat man then said, "What the? Why isn't it working?"

Inoue and Ino arrived at the scene carrying what appears to be C4, TNT and mini Napalm flasks. The group looked on in astonishment and Inoue said, "The bombs are useless now since I dismantled them. It's over. We won."

Ichigo moved back to the group and fell at his knees. Rukia ran to him and Inoue carefully dropped the dismantled bombs to check up on him.

"Ichigo!" Rukia cried out as she helped him lie down for Inoue to heal him. But before she could heal him, she felt someone tap her back. The group saw the fat man passing them and several explosions surrounded them allowing the fat man to leap through a hole in the wall. Because they were preoccupied with Ichigo's welfare, they didn't notice the man running away and now couldn't chase him because of the wall of explosions hindering them.

When the explosions stopped, Ino said, "Darn. He got away." But when she looked at Inoue's back, she saw a C4 bomb on her back. Ino then shouted, "Inoue-san! There's one of that C4 bombs like the ones we just dismantled on your back!"

Shikamaru then said, "Nobody panic. There's a timer on it. We can dismantle it manually. Does anyone know how to dismantle this kind bomb?"

Inoue then said as she chuckled, "I'm familiar with this kind of bomb."

Shikamaru sweatdropped and said, "Mendokuse. We are screwed."

Inoue then did the unthinkable and removed her blouse allowing everyone to see her ample bosom supported by her white bra. Chouji and Shikamaru were stunned, as was everyone else in the room. Ishida turned his back and said, "Inoue-san! Don't you have dignity?"

Inoue then threw the blouse as far as she could to allow the bomb to blow up where they could not be touched. Inoue then laughed and said, "I'm sorry. I forgot that you were all here."

They all face vaulted and Ino frowned as she thought, 'She forgot that we were here? Who is this girl? She's like Naruto.'

Chad then said, "Ichigo is still bleeding."

They looked and saw Ichigo as he comically grew paler. Inoue then said, "Sorry about that." She then raised her arms and said, "Soten Kisshun." The shield then surrounded him and began rejecting the damage done to him. Team Asuma was surprised once again when they saw Ichigo healing faster than their medic nins could ever achive. It took three seconds and Ichigo was back on his feet.

Ino shook her head in further shock and disbelief of yet another new trick that this mystery group pulled out of thin air. Then, in a voice that demanded some explanation of the unusual set of occurrences, she said, "What. Just. Happened?" 'First the hollows…then the crazy powers...next, this woman's expertise in explosives I've never even heard of. Heck, I didn't even understand everything she was explaining past the word C4 and dangerous explosive…now she can heal people in less than ten seconds?!'

Renji then said, "It's Inoue-san's power."

Asuma then thought, 'A Kekei Genkai? I feel like I need an ice bag after this.' Of course, Ino, Shikamaru and Chouji thought so as well in different versions of the dialogue in their heads.

Renji then said, "Her power is the power that defies kami-sama's territory, the ability to reject an event as if it never happened before."

Asuma then said, "What a scary ability."

Ichigo then said, "Arigato Inoue. But how did you stop the bombs?"

Ino then said, "When we got separated, we ran through the foundations and saw all those bombs. Inoue-san was the one who located it and dismantled the bombs. I helped."

Inoue smiled and said, "It wasn't that important."

Rukia then said, "Now that that's over, we should return and report to Hokage-sama about what happened here."

Asuma then said, "Ha-hai. Let's do that." 'These people are something else. Using jutsus of varying and unknown origin. Wait a minute!! …Some of those jutsus were similar to the ones Naruto used against Kiba. I can't remember the name properly but it was the last one Naruto used to defeat him. Is there some sort of connection? If there is, Shikamaru must have some serious questions and thoughts going through his mind right nowand is in deep already.'

The task force then left the underground sewage complex through the emergency exit that led to the surface. Inoue and Asuma were the first ones to resurface back to Konoha. They came out of an alleyway and a blushing Asuma said to Inoue, "Ummm…Inoue-san, I feel that you should put something on."

Inoue looked a little puzzled. Asuma then pointed at her chest without looking and Inoue got the idea. Unfortunately, someone else got the wrong idea and dropped her grocery bags when she saw Asuma pointing at Inoue's almost bare upper body. Asuma knew something was wrong and looked to the left and was jawdropped when he saw Kurenai with a shocked expression. Kurenai then frowned as she closed her eyes and turned around and left.

Asuma then ran after her and said, "Kurenai, Wait! I can explain!"

Kurenai stopped for a moment and said, "What for? I think it's pretty obvious." She then left giving a dejected Asuma the cold shoulder. The rest of the group surfaced and Ichigo said, "Finally we're out. What's wrong with him?"

Inoue then said with a sad tone, "I think his girlfriend got the wrong idea."

Ino then placed her hands on her hips and said, "Looks like Asuma-sensei will be dropping by my store very often."

Shikamaru then looked at the sky and said, "The clouds sure are beautiful today. I guess it wasn't so troublesome today." 'I am seriously screwed. This is getting way over my head. I'm sure to be killed on sight if all this ends up to be one big plot by some evil genius. To think that all that insanity might be related to Naruto is giving me a migraine worse than okaa-san when she accidentally drank sake one night.'

Meanwhile, in a fancy apartment, Polgas' female accomplice was pacing the room back and forth while a silver haired young boy in elegant traditional Japanese robes was busy reading a book.

"What the hell is taking him so long?" the irate woman said.

The silver haired boy said, "Be patient Tokage-san. You know how he is. He'll come back pissed off and he'll blame his faults on another party."

Just then, Polgas entered through the door and said, "Man I really had a bad day. This pisses me off. It was all their fault in the first place."

The silver haired boy then looked at Polgas and said, "Tanuki-san…did you accomplish your mission?"

Polgas then said, "Hai, Hikaru-sama. I made sure to do everything as I was told."

Tokage then said, "Good. Everything is going according to plan. What is the next step Hikaru-sama?"

Hikaru then closed his book and said as he returned it to a nearby shelf, "We wait for the rest to come. I have Polgas and Bayawak with me so all that remains is Ampaw, Unggoy, Tritran and Kapre."

Tokage then said, "What about Agila?"

Hikaru then said, "Agila will do what he does best. He never wanted to be part of the team so we can't force him. And besides, why indoctrinate someone who already is?"

Polgas then said, "So what about that painting? You said you'd finish it by the time I came back?"

Hikaru then said with a confident smile. "I'm glad you asked. I did." He then removed the cloth covering the painting beside the shelf. "See? It's there!" Hikaru said to them.

He then looked at the painting and said, "Why so serious my friend? You should smile and laugh more. After all, you can't spell slaughter without laughter." He smiled at the painting of Sasuke chained up with a hole in his heart and a small ball of light glowing from the center where his heart should be.

Many things can happen in a day more so, in a week or two. The plot thickens with enemies old and new in the picture. But no matter how short the foliage in Konoha, there will always be Snakes in the Grass.

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(pants as I reload the SVD and picks up the leg-length balisong from the floor) Whew. Now that I've taken care of the haters, how did you guys like it?

Barkeep: Shit! Look at all the shit you made! You better clean up this mess or-

Don't worry they're not dead. I used elephant tranquilizer darts. They'll be out for a couple of hours. They may be haters, but I don't kill would-be fans or former fans. I'll be working my ass off though so that the next update is faster and I don't end up with this mess ever again.

(more haters open fire from outside the Yellow Flag)

Crap! (Dives behind a couch and switches to a minigun with tranquilizer ammo)

Barkeep: That's it! I'm through with this! No more duck and cover for me. (He pulls out an AA12)

Hey! Use Rubber bullets with that thing! Zero casualties, remember? Just because you lost Tsukamoto-san to your Idol manga artist doesn't mean-

(He opens fire blowing up some cars used as a shield)

Ahh whatever. I'll see you guys in the next update. Till then, Jaa matta! (Gets up and fires like there's no tomorrow making several haters have sweet dreams of faster updates and better storylines)

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Doton, Ishi Koutetsu no Jutsu(Earth Release, Stone Steel Technique)- a technique that turns earth into steel. The user can control the shape of the steel in anyway he likes and use it or throw it.