Disclaimer: I in no way, shape, or form own Bleach or Naruto, both belong to their respective owners and I am in no way or form attempting to make a profit from this work of fiction.

Okay, disclaimer done with, on with the story!

"Alright, since we have information on five more convoys we'll break apart into two men squads and I'll take on the fifth by myself." Kakashi spoke up only for Naruto to step forward with a grin.

"I can take a go at the fifth one Kakashi-sensei, I've been dying to test out some new Jutsus Ero-sensei taught me." Naruto told him and Kakashi made the mistake of believing him.

"Alright, I'll go with Shikamaru, Sakura heads out with Shino, Kurenai with Kiba, and Hinata with…with…" Kakashi trailed off as Naruto only grinned as he made a familiar cross hand sign.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto announced and the moment the clone appeared Taka slapped a tag on their forehead, it flaring briefly with the dark blue light of Chakra before sinking into the clone's forehead.

"What was that?" Kakashi asked as he instinctively reached for a kunai, you didn't become a Jonin by ignoring things like that and he saw Kurenai already molding Chakra for a Fire Jutsu, simply waiting for Taka to move before incinerating him.

"It's just a durability and Chakra recycler seal matrix I invented with Ero-sensei, it helps making clones more durable without having to give them massive amounts of Chakra." Naruto hurriedly answered, trying to defuse the situation before it got to the point of violence before his face broke into a grin." Geez, why does everybody seem so violent ever since I came back, did you all really miss my sheer awesomeness that much?"

"Sorry about that, Taka is still an unknown so we're all a little jumpy when he is involved in things like this." Kurenai answered as Kakashi walked over to them.

"Thanks for the clone but what is Taka going to do?" Kakashi asked as he pointed to the masked Shinobi only to find him gone." Where is he?"

"He went to stall all of the convoys, he'll block the road to stop them." Naruto answered before he gave a wave." Seeya."

He vanished with a long distance Shunsin and an added swirl, more like a miniature vortex, of leaves blinded the Konoha Shinobi.

"Naruto still doesn't have that great of control, he overloaded that Shunsin with Chakra." Shikamaru commented before he and Kakashi both vanished in a burst of smoke.

Naruto watched hidden from the treetops as the Konoha-nin vanished in bursts of smoke.

"Taka, how long will the convoys be stalled?" Naruto asked.

"A few hours, I've created walls in a complete circle around them." Taka answered." I've reinforced the walls with Chakra and lined them with dozens of traps as well to keep them away from the walls."

"Good, head on to your next assignment while I go deal with the one I've been assigned." Naruto spoke up before receiving a nod from Taka.

"I will infiltrate Amekagure and give you my report once I get inside." Taka answered but Naruto stopped him as he turned away with a hand on his shoulder.

"Remember to time your approach, the rain is a sensory barrier and I hear the entirety of the Akatsuki are meeting in person there along the time of your infiltration, be careful but if you can do it I want a report on their meeting." Naruto spoke up and Taka nodded.

"I'll return in a week at the most." Taka answered before stepping into the shadows and seemingly dropping into them, as if they were water.

"Good luck." Naruto spoke.

"Don't need it." Taka's voice answered before the shadows seem to change back to normal.

"Well, time to go to work I guess." Naruto commented before vanishing in a Shunsin." I'll have to work fast to intercept the corpse before it reaches the convoy."

With Shikamaru and Kakashi…

"Hatake-san, have you noticed something different with Naruto ever since he came back?" Shikmaru asked the veteran Jonin who simply nodded.

"He's been off but it's understandably, he's been away for five years so it'll take some time to get used to how he changed." Kakashi answered and since he was looking forward he wasn't able to see the eyes of the genius behind him narrow in annoyance.

"Believe me, I'm not trying to insult you Kakashi but you're an idiot sometimes even when all the clues are in front of you." Shikamaru spoke and without another word he shot past the Jonin.

'This is troublesome, am I really the only one who knows Naruto isn't Naruto anymore?'

Sakura and Shino…

"Haruno-san, have you noticed Uzumaki-san has changed ever since he had returned from his training with Jiraiya-dono." Shino asked the Hokage's apprentice who hesitated for a second before nodding.

"As a medic, Tsunade-sensei trained me in attention to detail and I've noticed that Naruto is very different from what he was before he left. Just the way he carries himself is different, it's like he's a completely different person than who he was." Sakura answered and Shino nodded before he was silent for several moments before he decided to speak again.

"After Naruto left, I had several of my kikaichu go to the Valley of the End and consume of the remnants of the Chakra there, of both Naruto and Sasuke. When Naruto returned, my kikaichu nearly didn't recognize him and a hive has never come close to have forgotton any Chakra signatures before, it is a fact that some kikaichu among any hive will always remember it but Naruto's signature was nearly forgotten and I do not know why still." Shino revealed to Sakura after a moment of intense thought." You are correct when you say that Naruto is a different person, at least his Chakra has changed drastically."

"I wonder how, I've studied the Chakra Pathway System and Chakra extensively and few books mentioned a way for Chakra Signatures to change and the ones that did state it's a Kinjutsu corrupting their Chakra unless the person themselves undertakes a drastic change. I'll have to ask Jiraiya-sama when he returns." Sakura told him before turning to him." You can join me if you wish."

"I'm afraid I can't, once we return to the village my father has asked me to look after the hive." Shino answered and Sakura rose an eyebrow at that.

"But you have a hive already, why would your father want you to have another?" Sakura asked and Shino slowly shook his head.

"I am to look after the main hive, one of the duties of the Clan Head and the Clan Council is to ensure the main kikaichu hive remains strong. It is partly why we have a relationship with the Torture and Interrogation Force, we use their blocked Chakra to keep the hive satisfied. I will begin my training with the techniques linked to the main hive since I have completed my previous training for the endurance and reserves necessary to use those techniques." Shino explained to the dumbstruck Haruno.

"Would you need a Medical-nin with you?" Sakura asked after a moment.

"I would, my Chakra will nearly be drained entirely by the kikaichu during my training." Shino answered.

"I'll be there if you allow me to study the hive or a sample of it, the kikaichu your clan uses have always interested me ever since I began my studying in becoming a Medical-nin." Sakura spoke up and Shino rose a concealed eyebrow.

"How?" the bug user asked." Normally people are disturbed by our insects."

"Then they're morons, if the hospital could learn to temporary transplant specially bred kikaichu into the patients than we'll be able to create antidotes to some of the most deadly poisons Konoha-nin have encountered. Not to mention the possibility of a single Medical-nin being able to send out kikaichu fed Healing Chakra to quickly heal dozen of Shinobi or civilians without exposing themselves to the battlefield at all." Sakura answered and Shino nodded.

'Those are good ideas and perhaps they can become reality once I become Clan Head.' Shino thought as the two raced towards the convoy.

Kurenai and Kiba…

"Kurenai-sensei do you know who that Taka guy that Naruto has working for him is?" Kiba asked while riding the now horse size Akamaru.

"Konoha has no jurisdiction over him and he has no records since he was never properly trained as a Shinobi." Kurenai answered after a small moment of hesitation in speaking." No one has any idea who Taka is besides Naruto himself and he's not telling anyone anything."

"I guess it makes sense, he wants an ace up his sleeve with the Akatsuki after him and no one knowing how deep they are involved around the Shinobi World." Kiba spoke after a moment, having become much more level headed ever since he had been trained by his mother and sister relentlessly for a few years after Naruto left.

They had heard about his rash actions during both the Chunin Exams and during the Sasuke Retrieval Mission and had pounded the brashness and cockiness out of him in a few months.

"We can all understand that but this is Naruto we're talking about, I didn't even think he knew about Akatsuki." Kurenai answered after a moment and Kiba stared at her, his face black.

"That's not right Kurenai-sensei." Kiba spoke after a moment of silence passed between the two, the tension thick enough for anyone else to choke on." They want my friend dead and I'll be damned if the village kept something like that from him!"

"Naruto wouldn't know what to do with that information, he'll just shout about it and say he'll stop them." Kurenai answered and Kiba didn't the unexpected thing by actually growling at her.

"So it's better to leave him unprepared, like a lamb heading to the slaughter?" Kiba demanded as Akamaru stopped." Who the hell gets away with even ordering something like that?"

"Kiba, it would be for the best and he would even have an ANBU protection detail guarding him." Kurenai pressed and Kiba actually laughed at that.

"And you think Naruto would leave people to die for him to be safe, have you ever even met him? Naruto may joke around but he doesn't let people around him get hurt, that only motivates him to get stronger to protect them!" Kiba told Kurenai with conviction." I don't know why people always think that Naruto isn't ready to handle information you'll trust a Genin with but it's getting ridiculous! Naruto knows when to take things seriously, he doesn't joke around when things are dangerous like the Akatsuki!"

"Let's go Akamaru!" Kiba ordered and with a bark for confirmation the two were a blur as they leapt through the trees, leaving Kurenai behind who sighed.

'I have the feeling I just seriously screwed up.' Kurenai thought even as she sped up to catch up with Kiba, she was still a Jonin while he was a Chunin and would deal with his attitude later.

Right now they had a convoy of weapons to stop.

Hinata and Naruto clone…

"So Uzumaki-san, what were you doing during your training?" Hinata managed to ask without a stutter, help from Kurenai, Kiba, and Shino getting rid of much of her shyness around others." Did you enjoy it?"

"It was awesome but it was really hard almost all of the time, I swear Jiraiya-sensei was trying to kill me sometimes with the training he put me through and it got nearly impossible at some points but it was all worth it." Naruto answered, one hand raised up to his face before it balled into a fist." I'm stronger than ever and I'm ready to stop the Akatsuki, they're not going to hurt any of the Jinchuriki as long as I can stop them!"

'He always has such a conviction, I guess that was why I had that crush on him.' Hinata thought as she kept pace with Naruto.' But seeing him now, I don't feel like I did five years ago when I'm near him.'

A little known fact around the village, and even the Konoha 11, was that Hinata Hyuga had slowly but surely had gotten over her crush over Naruto and now just saw him as a best friend, someone to rely on and draw strength from.

Naruto Uzumaki to her was now a source of inspiration and hope in the otherwise dark and painful Shinobi World.

"That's great to hear, I've been training too ever since you left." Hinata answered after a moment." Everyone has grown stronger since you left, all of us want to help you against the Akatsuki."

"That's great!" Naruto announced with a mile wide grin on his face." Akatsuki doesn't stand a chance against the Will of Fire, they'll never bring down either us or Konoha!"

"Yeah, they won't." Hinata added as the two raced towards the convoy.

'But is he still going to be alive to see it brought down?'

AN: Well, some of that chapter can really deep for me actually and to be honest, it nearly out this story on hiatus for a few days. I just couldn't think of anything for nearly the entire day but the last hour everything came to me and this is the results. Anyway I hope you liked it and leave a review on what you want to happen next.

Peace.