As I have stated before, none of the characters used in the manga, Naruto, are owned by myself. They are the work of Masashi Kishimoto. This is just my spin on things. After seeing a few stories that I read fall victim to thievery, I must note to not use the original characters, Chronos, Akiri, Akun, Huuma, Rai, Kanaye, or Myou without my permission.


Kyoto River

Travelers constantly chartered boats along the great northern river of the Elemental Countries: the Kyoto River, which ran from Lake Arashi, a border lake between Iwa, Taki, and the lesser northern countries. The lake itself was fed from various mountain springs, rainfall, and runoff from the spring snow melt. Excess water flowed from the lake and traveled along the borders between Kusa and Taki, Taki and Konoha, and Oto and Konoha. Part of that border was a grand waterfall at the Valley of the End, a place that marked the battlefield where the Shodaime and Uchiha Madara fought for hours on end. The river continued from there and wove its way to the sea.

Most of the charter boats limited their runs to the section of the river between the borders of Taki, Kusa, and Konoha. At the junction point between those three countries was a town called Heisuigawa, which overlooked a placid section of the river. The town itself was mostly a place of commerce and trading between the three nations and was neutral territory. Due to its status and location, many shinobi teams used it as a springboard to various missions in other countries. Inside the town, shinobi status meant nothing and the local security forces were strict in keeping the peace. No shinobi was allowed to wear hitai-ate or even the traditional masks of ANBU or hunter-nin. Checkpoints were set up and shinobi were allowed to come into concealed and guarded rooms to remove the garb of their various nations without giving away their identities.

Of course to the most skilled of ninja, figuring out who was who failed to be any sort of challenge, especially if they came from the same village. So it came of no surprise that the tracking team assigned to find Jiraiya came to the town, or that Jiraiya spotted the trackers coming into the town first. Knowing the team would spend the night, Jiraiya made his way to one of the local eateries that allowed canine companions to eat there.

The place was an outdoor barbecue establishment that possessed large stone tables with small grills molded into the top while areas for canine and other animal companions were set to the right side of the eatery. He took a table near a corner of said area. Within ten minutes, one Inuzuka Hana and her three canine companions entered. He glanced over her features; she was a gorgeous young woman with long brown hair pulled into a ponytail, a standard Jounin vest over a tan halter top and blue fitted shorts that stopped at mid-thigh. After the once-over, he waved to her invitingly.

The young Jounin tracker and leading veterinarian of Konoha growled to herself when she spotted the elder shinobi seated at a table waiving to her jovially. 'It seems that he expected me. Sometimes I wonder if his network is too good,' she surmised before affixing a plastic smile to her face and seated herself at the table.

"Been waiting long, Master Jiraiya??" Hana asked politely while still giving her plastic smile.

"Not too long, only about ten minutes, or fifteen since you arrived in the village with your faithful companions here." He replied while holding out a trio of cooked strips of beef for her dogs. After an analyzing sniff, each of the dogs snatched a piece from his hand and chewed on it greedily.

"Figured you knew I was coming when I saw you here," she commented plainly. "Do you know why I came or do I need to brief you?"

The sage passed over a packet of photos which she scanned carefully. "I know enough to be on my way back to Konoha. Is there anything else going on?"

She calmly handed the photos back to the Sannin with a small sigh. "Seals never were my specialty so I will leave that for you, which is the reason why you are needed back in Konoha. Take those directly to the Hokage. I will instead head over to a nearby gambling town to look for Tsunade. She will be needed as well."

Jiraiya grimaced. "It won't be easy calling her back, but if you inform her it is about her godson, she may change her mind."

Shock spread across Hana's face. "Godson?? So she knows who his parents are??"

"It is one of the reasons why she left the village. She was so heartbroken at not just the death of her otouto and loved one, but the boy's true Otousan and Kaasan that she needed to leave for a while." He replied gravely.

"But why didn't she come back?? Surely she could have raised the boy??"

"Knowing what she has become it is no surprise she hasn't, and in all due respect to my former teammate, she would not have been a good mother. It may take the boy to bring the Tsunade back to her former glory that Konoha remembers." Jiraiya stated sadly. "However, it is most likely that Naruto's future condition will only bring a shock to her system. She may be the best medic in the Elemental Countries, but the loss she suffered may be more than Uzumaki's condition can cure after all."

Hana nodded while stabbing a piece of venison off the grill and eating it herself. The two talked about the doings in and out of Konoha for the rest of the meal. It was then that the Sannin learned more about Chronos and how he took in the young Uzumaki and Uchiha. He also learned of the boys' mission to Wave. After the meal, the two parted ways and he headed out of the town.

'It might be best for me to get to Konoha quickly. It will be necessary for me to give Naruto some training to he won't rely on using the Kyuubi's chakra.'


Rinkuu

It was a matter of three day's travel at typical shinobi speeds before Kurenai and Kakashi led their teams through the gates of the grimy port town. Smells of diesel fumes permeated the air and, when mixed with the noises of the wayfarers bustling about, it left a feel that seemed to make frequent bathing a necessity of life. That didn't include the dirty cobblestone streets and the occasional beggars that would panhandle for any spare change they could find. All in all, the various shinobi were disgusted with the condition of the town and wondered kind of magistrate they would be working for if he/she served a local government that allowed this to run. Team Seven specifically wondered if this was just another bit of the reach that Gato had during his time. It could be expected since it was supposedly his bandits that they were dealing with.

After securing lodging for the night, the group made their way to the magistrate's office. Compared to the rest of the town, the office was resplendent in its luxury. The building itself was nestled within a complex set aside for the local government. No traces of dirt or trash were present; no one but business men and politicians lined the sidewalks, and only the smells and sounds of a sterile office environment lingered in the air.

A building directory was present on the side of the glass double-doors, informing them of their destination being on the second floor. Upon entrance, they were greeted by a tall blonde receptionist that was seated at a large semi-circular desk. Eyeballing the lean but properly curvaceous woman in front of them, Kiba leaned over to Naruto and whispered in his ear.

"I wouldn't mind having an assistant like that. I wonder what her oral skills are like."

"Welcome to Magistrate Yashin's office. How may I help you?" The woman screeched out like a cat that had its tail stepped on.

Sasuke leaned over to Kiba. "Sounds great to me. Go get her." He quietly stated while playfully nudging the boy's shoulder. Akamaru and Kiba both whined under their breath from the pain the woman's voice inflicted upon their sensitive ears.

The boys' conversation went unnoticed save for the two Jounin. In a fortunate turn of events for the young Genin, Kurenai had enough self-control to prevent her from ripping each of them a new hole to breathe from. She placed her concentration on the task at hand and addressed the woman.

"We are from Konoha and have business with the magistrate. My name is Yuuhi Kurenai and the man next to me is Hatake Kakashi. Could you let him know the teams he requested have arrived?"

"One moment, please." She replied with a disinterested look on her face, before picking up the handset on her phone and pressed a red button on the dial pad. After a couple seconds, she started a conversation with the person on the other end. "This is the front desk. A group from Konoha is here to see you…. There are eight of them…. Two adults and six teens…. Yes…. Right away sir." Once she ended the phone call, she looked up at the waiting shinobi. "Ms. Yuuhi and Mr. Hatake, the magistrate is waiting for the both of you upstairs. Go up to the second floor entrance from the stairwell on your left. Take a left and his office is at the end of the hall."

"Arigato." The masked Jounin replied before turning to their Genin counterparts. "The rest of you are to stay here. You two," Kakashi warned pointedly staring at Naruto and Kiba, "stay out of trouble."

Kiba nodded in affirmation but muttered under his breath about insensitivity to a man's needs. On the other hand, Naruto was not as agreeable.

"I am not that bad. When have I ever caused trouble??" Naruto posed in fake innocence.

"How about when you got me with a dirty eraser?" Kakashi retorted.

"Or when you left rats in the marketplace?" Kurenai asked.

"Or the time you left stink bombs in the Academy lounge?" Kiba responded.

"Or when you spiked Mizuki-sensei's tea with ink?" Sakura demanded.

Naruto watched everyone gazing at him expectantly before seating himself in a nearby chair before grinning at the group. "I'll let you know that I had nothing to do with…"

All of the ninjas stared in disbelief, except for one. Sasuke merely shook his head. 'Here he goes again.'

"Those…. those beautiful pieces of work." Naruto finished with a mocking smile, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms behind his head.

Sasuke groaned. "You can't help yourself, can you?"

"Nope." He replied before chuckling. Kakashi and Kurenai shook their heads and made to the stairwell while Naruto proceeded to explain the wonderful world of movie quotes.


Konoha

The Konoha Shinobi Archives was one of the most secure facilities in the village, and rightly so. Vast arrays of knowledge, ranging from maps, jutsu scrolls, and raw intelligence data, were stored within its walls. The building was separated into three sections. Above ground held the first section which was home to the historians and cartographers. Their primary duty consisted of the maintenance and preservation of all maps and historical data for the village, so most of their section was office and workspace. The second section was just underneath the single floor building and home to the Intelligence officers of the ANBU. Their primary duty was to review all mission and patrol information, raw data from Konoha's spy network, and interrogation reports then collate it into intelligence briefings for the Council and Hokage. Again, this section consisted of office space and work areas, as well as a cafeteria and sleeping quarters for those emergencies where a constant presence was needed.

The final section was where the actual archives were housed. It was a large stone and steel vault at the very bottom of the building. Access to the area consisted of one corridor leading to the only entrance to the vault. That entrance was constantly guarded by ANBU as well as various seals designed to only be deactivated by the guard or the Hokage. Typically, only those who worked in the building would venture down here if they needed to secure any information that came in.

This made today a special day for the ANBU guarding the vault. In front of them stood three clan heads and members of the Shinobi Council as well as Ibiki and one of his brightest Intelligence officers, Kobayashi Hiro. The man had broad shoulders with sandy brown hair, hazel eyes, and a small patch or hair underneath his bottom lip. He was plainly dressed in a standard business suit that was well tailored and kept in pristine condition. However, it did not cover up the slight misshapen bulges that lined the man's midsection. When Chronos mentioned it along their walk down the corridor, he summed it up in two words: training accident.

After a nod from Ibiki, the two ANBU went through a series of hand seals before placing their fingertips on the vault entrance. At that point, the doors opened automatically and the group of five walked in leaving the ANBU stationed outside.

"Welcome to the Archives, esteemed Councilmen." Ibiki announced. "I will leave Hiro here to help you with your work. If you need anything, alert the ANBU guard. Now if you will excuse me, I have other business to attend to." He informed them politely before spinning on his heel and departing quickly.

Chronos watched the tall scarred man march out of the vault before turning around to soak up the sight of the numerous double-sided bookshelves stocked with various books, scrolls, maps, and photo albums. Along one wall were boxes filled with everything gathered from the various missions done by Konoha stacked neatly on shelves with each box marked by a date and a color code. The shelves alone stretched for what seemed to be eternity in his mind. The only place that compared to the sight in front of him was his lone visit as a child to the Library of Congress and, as it was then, he felt that he could loose his way amongst the shelves. It appeared that his amazement at the expanse of the archive was written on his face so clearly that the others noticed it quickly.

"You might want to close his mouth. I don't think drooling is a good image to portray." The Nara clan head whispered to him. Chronos closed his mouth and looked to the three people in the room and noticed Hiashi glaring at him. With the look of disdain written all over his face, it was obvious this venture started off on the wrong foot.

'Hopefully Sasuke and Naruto are having more fun than I am.' Chronos thought wistfully.


Rinkuu

"Welcome, Hatake Kakashi and Yuuhi Kurenai. I'm Namamoto Yashin, chief magistrate here in Rinkuu. Please come in and have a seat." The large balding man greeted, motioning to the two leather chairs present before his mahogany desk. The office itself was obviously that of a privileged man, as it reeked of opulence and the trappings of position.

Kakashi and Kurenai quickly scanned the room as their training dictated but didn't linger as to create any perception of dishonor before they took the offered seats. Namamoto Yashin was a tall and portly man who had advanced on in years. He dressed in the typical uniform of office, which appeared to no longer fit anymore as some of the stitching in his pants and top was a bit strained. With the small scars near the neck and jaw line, his overall image was one of a warrior long past his prime who now sat as a mere figurehead. Combine that with the décor of the magistrate's office and one would believe that he was nothing more than a political appointee. But as the two Jounin of Konoha could attest, appearances could be deceiving and internally the duo came to the same conclusion; to treat the man carefully.

"Your hospitality is most appreciated. How can we be of service?" Kurenai inquired.

"As you may have been informed by your Hokage, we have a bit of a bandit problem outside of the town. For weeks now, many of the convoys heading into town have been raided. The attacks have been frequent but without a set pattern in either time or location." He reported briefly before his eyes widened slightly. "Oh, how rude of me. You must be parched from your journey here. Will tea be acceptable??" He stated quickly motioning over to a curvy red-headed woman standing in corner of the room holding a tray with a teapot, cups, and a few finger sandwiches.

"Arigato. A cup of tea would be appreciated." Kakashi replied with Kurenai nodding her agreement. It would not be best to refuse a client's hospitality at the onset of a mission.

"Suri, if you would please." Yashin ordered gracefully before returning to the matters at hand. "Now from what we have managed to find out, the bandits' number range from between thirty and forty and we lack the manpower on our own to search for them. After hearing how things have gone with your team in Wave Country, Kakashi-san, we were hoping you could lend a hand."

"It wasn't just a walk in the park." Kakashi mentioned off-handedly as Suri presented both Jounin with a cup of tea, which they took politely. "There were more complications on that mission than I would have liked but we pulled through."

The portly magistrate nodded grimly while taking a sip of his tea. "I heard about how Gato and his ruffians gave you a difficult time, especially with the missing nin he hired. Without Gato's backing, those thugs just reverted back to petty thievery and raiding parties. I doubt you will have to worry this time."

"What makes you suspect that these the same thugs Gato once employed?" Kurenai asked as she took an experimental sip of her tea and was surprised by its sweet soothing taste. "My compliments on the tea. I might have to bring some of it back to Konoha with me." She said approvingly before taking another drink.

"It is a special blend of Valerian root, chamomile, baby tea leaves, and strawberry juice. As for the thugs, they started showing up just a couple days after the reported demise of that criminal. With the numbers he employed, it is doubtful that there is a second group gathering in the area." He responded calmly while watching the two Jounin intently. As the two swallowed another sip, he could tell the tea was taking its effect.

Kakashi felt it first. Normally, the loopy feeling that he was experiencing would only be related to when he drank too many bottles of sake, however this was only tea. Slowly it dawned on him that he was poisoned. The former ANBU looked over to his comrade but by that time the effects of the drug were taking him down. The objects around him began to weave, wobble, shrink, and expand as if they were images from a fun house mirror. He made a last chance effort to unveil his Sharingan eye but his hand kept missing his head as if he were shooing a fly.

Kurenai noticed her fellow Jounin turning toward her slowly as the drug was taking its hold. When she took her first glance at his face, his hair seemed to flap and wave like a flag on the wind. His lone exposed eye started to bulge out like a cartoon character and it appeared as if his neck was stung by hundreds of bees by the amount it swelled. Figuring out what was going on, she tried to reach for her equipment pouch for an antidote. Unfortunately, every attempt at grabbing onto the pouch was futile. Her not-so-subtle movements appeared to the other two in the room as if she was slapping her chair repeatedly.

Yashin stood from his chair as soon as the two Konoha shinobi slumped in their chairs and passed out from the effects of the melon extract already present in their two cups before the tea was poured. 'There shouldn't have been two teams.' He thought as he scowled at the two Jounin. 'Even so, this shouldn't make the plan too far out of reach, Myou willing.'

At that point, the man reached to his neck and pulled off a mask to reveal the smiling but maniacal face of Kanaye. His head was shaved clean and his eyebrows were pierced on each side by three steel bars with cubed studs on each end. On his right cheek was a black tattoo of a clawed metal gauntlet with blood dripping off each clawed fingertip. Purposefully, he marched over to the wall to his left and pressed his hand into a specific section of the wall. A click sounded and part of the wall moved to the side to reveal a second room. Inside, two men wearing goggled masks and skin-tight gray armored suits were working on two rubber masks seated on smooth mannequin heads. A third man near the same build as Kakashi quickly moved out to the main room and pulled the masked Jounin into the other room. He then proceeded to strip Kakashi of his gear and clothing, only to outfit it himself.

Kanaye grinned, pleased at the work and turned to the redhead in the other room to find her stripping Kurenai. "Rai-san, do you think you can fit into her clothing?"

A sly and sexy smile grew on her face. "It should be no problem. I will have to tone it down a little though. I will probably be more alluring than this plain Jane."

"No matter, so long as we can fool their brats and the beast long enough, there won't be anything they can do about it." He responded confidently. "How much longer before the masks are ready?" He threw back over his shoulder to the two masked men.

"We are putting the finishing touches on now. They will be dry within two minutes." The one working on Kakashi's mask muttered with a smoky tone to his voice.

"All we will need then is to place the de-scenting spray on them and have the two go through the voice change procedure. At most, it should take ten minutes before we are ready to go." The other man gleefully stated with a child-like voice.

"Excellent. We will continue on with the plan. Keep the prisoners secure while Rai goes and leads the beast and his friends into our trap. In two hours, we will be one step closer to freeing our saviors from their earthly prison." Kanaye emphatically proclaimed to his fellow believers to which they responded in cultist fashion.

"Praise Akun! Hail Myou!"

--

Patience was usually a strength of most ninja of Konoha. Some had it in abundance like Aburame Shino and Uchiha Sasuke. Both of them sat silently while keeping an observant eye on their surroundings. On the other end of the spectrum, Naruto was getting impatient and his frustration was clearly shown when he stood in a huff.

"Man, what is taking them so long? It shouldn't take this long to get the information we need." He stated as he started to pace from one end of the lobby to the other.

"Knock it off, knucklehead. Don't forget everything Otousan taught you, or weren't you paying attention?" Sasuke gruffly corrected his wayward teammate. "We are dealing with a political figure here in this town. It won't just be a quick briefing."

Naruto scoffed at his aniki and continued to pace. "It has been over twenty minutes. You can't be serious if you think talking to some stuffed shirt would take that long."

The receptionist unknowingly flinched at that statement. 'I hope no one else thinks like he just did or the ruse may be up.' She maintained a close eye on the blond while trying not to look too suspicious. Unluckily for her, Shino noticed the flinch and decided to keep an eye, or more appropriately a kikaichu bug, on her as he ordered one to plant itself on her outfit.

While that was going on, Naruto ranted and raved about the monotonous situation they were stuck in. Hinata watched as her crush paced back and forth and occasionally let out a complaint which Sakura or Sasuke would try to squash. To her, usually the blonde could do no wrong, but even this was getting annoying to the heiress. Without thinking, she reached out and softly grasped his arm when he came by the next time.

Naruto lost his train of thought when he felt the warm and silky touch of her as her hand circled his wrist. It was so inviting that he was drawn into her shimmering eyes. Hinata looked back up at him and any hint of irritation washed away as his brilliant orbs showed the hints of adoration that she always had for the young man for as long as she could remember.

All the while, neither of them was aware of all of the snickering and cat-calls thrown their way. Fortunately, or unfortunately from Hinata's point of view, the serenity of the moment was shattered by one voice that resonated above the others.

Sasuke looked on at the scene as his otouto and the Hyuuga heiress were lost in themselves. Typically, he never would have been one to play many pranks or do any of the childish things that Naruto did, but the moment seemed perfect for it. Taking a calming breath, he altered his voice to one of the movie characters that Otousan watched and taunted the budding couple.

"Ano, an enchanted moment." He slurred out with his best Southern drawl.

Instantly, the two sprung away from each other with Hinata performing her best impression of Sasuke's favorite treat and Naruto glaring at his aniki as if his eyes could pierce his skin.

Sasuke chuckled and continued his taunt. "What's the matter, knucklehead?? Can't take it as well as you dish it out??"

"Don't you worry, teme. It's on now." Naruto retorted sending him a foxy smirk that reminded his aniki of a predator playing with his meal.

A few moments later, both Kakashi and Kurenai emerged from the stairwell. Kurenai gathered the Genin while Kakashi nodded to the receptionist. The woman returned the gesture, stood from her desk, and made her way out of the office. Shino watched the woman leave the building and it perked his curiosity. He left it in the back of his mind as Kurenai started to brief the Genin on the mission parameters and intel that the magistrate imparted in their meeting.

"The bandits have been raiding the various supply routes into the town usually three to five kilometers from the town's perimeter. That is the only thing the raids have had in common. They never attack the same route on consecutive attacks nor strike at the same time of day." The Genjutsu Mistress informed the teams.

Kiba eyed her suspiciously when Kurenai spoke. 'She doesn't sound right. It almost sounds rehearsed and her voice wasn't natural.' He thought as listened to her words. He flashed a hand sign to Akamaru to note something was suspicious. The canine teammate stiffened slightly as he observed the two Jounin carefully.

"There are two supply caravans coming into the town tonight. One will come in from the northwest through a valley pass in the early evening and another one will come the south along the coast road about an hour later. The best way to handle that would be to send one team to each route." Kakashi stated as he handed out the mission orders.

"This evening??" Sakura asked complainingly. "We would have to take off right now! Shouldn't we get some rest first?"

"I agree." Shino stated in a level tone. "It would be illogical to go out on a convoy protection mission and split our forces after just arriving here just this morning."

"The bandits probably have no idea we've been hired and will be unprepared, giving us the element of surprise." Kurenai smoothly explained. "That should make this an easy mission."

Akamaru just let out two small barks followed by a long one, which to the rest seemed innocuous but to Kiba was something more.

'So Akamaru is sure that the two are not our senseis. They must still be here in the building. Guess we will have to take these two fakers down and make them tell us where they are.' He concluded as he slyly made his hand toward his kunai pouch. Before he could make it there, Sasuke nudged him with his elbow.

"I know you are excited like I am, right?" the Uchiha inquired while staring the Genin down.

Kiba glared back at him but in so doing caught sight of Naruto hiding a disapproving shake of his head by turning to the side and crossing his arms.

"Don't get in a hurry now, aniki. We still have to get our night gear from the hotel." Naruto informed Sasuke in a commanding tone which perked every one of the Genin's attention, including Hinata. She was amazed at her crush's transformation from prankster to in-charge shinobi.

"Lead the way then, otouto." Sasuke replied with a bow and a sweeping gesture.

Naruto bowed dramatically before glancing at Kakashi. "If that is good with you, sensei."

The fake Kakashi motioned his assent. "By all means, lead on."

The trench coat clad Genin cracked his best fake smile before walking in front of the two teams as they exited the building only to sprint off to the hotel. After a few moments, the group arrived at the lobby of the hotel.

Kurenai and Kakashi stood off to the side and waved the Genin away. "Go ahead and get prepped for the night's mission. We will meet back here in twenty minutes."

Sakura made as if she was about to comment on the order but Sasuke grasped her hand and drug her off to the rooms that were down the hall toward the far end of the building.

Hinata was confused by everything that was going on but didn't want to comment. For some reason, she thought Kurenai-sensei acted strangely when she mentioned going out that night after the trek getting to Rinkuu, but she chalked it up to demands from the client.

The Genin split into the separate rooms for the boys and girls but as quickly as the doors closed, Sakura barged through the adjoining door and made a beeline to Sasuke.

"Why did you stop me from saying something to Kurenai in the lobby?! This whole night mission mess is way too strange!"

Sasuke glared at his kunoichi teammate, prompting her to quiet down quickly. "Wait a moment. Shino," he threw at the stoic bug-user, "are they nearby?"

"No." he calmly replied. "I marked them with a pair of female kikaichu. The males will notify me if they approach."

"Good work, Shino." Kiba praised him before addressing the rest of them. "Those two were not our senseis. Akamaru and I could tell their voices were off."

"It wasn't the only thing off about them. I couldn't sense the strong chakra signatures that our senseis have." Shino informed the group.

Naruto let out a relieved sigh. "I was worried there for a minute that something wasn't off about Kakashi-sensei."

Sakura turned to her teammate as if he announced he was a girl. "How did you know something was wrong?" She asked incredulously.

"He didn't have that Kami-awful book out." He answered in a matter-of-fact tone.

The rest of the Genin gaped at the blonde in incredulous disbelief. It was a good minute before someone voiced what everyone thought.

"You're kidding me right??" Kiba snorted out. "You honestly are telling me that your only clue was a book??"

Naruto just puffed out his chest proudly. "It was all I needed. The only time Kakashi-sensei does not have that book out is when he needs both hands or threatened by an irate kunoichi. He even reads it in front of Ojiisan!"

Sasuke and Sakura slapped their foreheads, not only embarrassed that this was the clue that the knucklehead staked his opinion on, but that their sensei was that much of a pervert.

Hinata looked at her crush and sighed. Sometimes he was so simple, but it was part of the reason she was entranced by him. He had complete faith in himself even though there was little he based his beliefs on. 'Maybe I should speak up as well. He is not afraid to speak his mind.'

Hinata shyly cleared her throat before trying to emulate her hero. "Ano… I didn't detect a henge at all. There… wasn't any chakra output either to alter their voices. They must be very skilled impressionists."

"I didn't even detect a change in scent even though it was not as strong. That is probably from them wearing their clothes and equipment." Kiba explained while mulling over the situation.

Sasuke grunted in annoyance. "That may be all well and good but that doesn't tell us too much past the two are not our senseis. We need a plan."

Sakura closed her eyes and took a breath before releasing it in a calming fashion. "Naruto, do you know how far your clones can go before they disappear?"

Said blonde gave a thoughtful pose and screwed his eyes to the ceiling. "To be honest, I am not sure, but they have managed to go a couple clicks before running out of steam. Why do you ask?"

Shino, seeing immediately where this was going, interjected on the pink-haired kunoichi's behalf. "I believe what Sakura is suggesting is to make clones and henge them into us then have them lead the impostors out of here."

Kiba and Akamaru growled lightly. "That's good and all, but what happens after that? How do we find Kurenai-sensei and Kakashi-sensei??"

"Like any good ninja, we go back to where they were last and search. We'll go from there." Sasuke stated quickly ending the conversation.

"Fine with me." Naruto announced before making his favorite cross-finger seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." In an instant, eight clones emerged from the smoke.

Hinata nudged Naruto on the shoulder lightly to gain his attention. "Naruto-kun… There needs to be nine of them. We can't forget about Akamaru."

Naruto sheepishly scratched his head before producing a ninth clone and having them henge into each of the two teams. The henged clones were dressed in darker color versions of their usual outfits.

"What's up with our outfits, baka?? Don't you think that they will spot that??" Sakura questioned emphatically.

"They have no idea what our night gear is." Sasuke defended his otouto to the slight surprise of Team Eight. "The impostors will be suspicious if we come out not at least dressed differently."

Naruto nodded and then had the clones head out to the lobby. Patiently and quietly, the two teams sat in the hotel room until Shino informed them that they were out of range. Together, they snuck out of the rooms fully stocked with their weapons and kits fully stocked ready for anything. Little did they know that "anything" would be what they were in store for as they headed back to the magistrate building, with the sun dipping into the late afternoon sky.


(A/N): As per usual, there was a couple movie references there. The Rundown and Tombstone are two of my favorite movies. I wish I did own the rights to them but alas I don't. Feel free to review and continue to vote on my poll. I will endevor to speed up my literary processes in order to speed this along. I doubt I even want to be writing this well into next year.