Sorry for the wait guys. I know I kinda left you hanging but I garuntee it was worth the wait. A lot of you might not like this chapter, but stick with it. Naruto gets much stronger in the next few chapters and believe it or not, it might not be enough. Enjoy.

Tenchi Bridge

Naruto looked at the unexpected visitor and kept his guard up. "I will only say this once, get out of our way." Itachi spoke with authority and calmness. The man laughed and got angry quickly. "NO! I have come too far to just let that boy pass." He pointed at Naruto and just then, Naruto recognized him.

"Noeme Gibuntaro?" The ninja smiled and looked at Naruto. "So, you remember me. Good, then you should know that I am much stronger than before." Naruto smirked. "So am I. Itachi-sensei, let me handle this." Itachi nodded as Naruto stepped forward to face Noeme.

Another familiar voice came from the trees. "Itachi Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki, you may go no further." Naruto turned his head slightly to see Yugao jump down from the trees. "What!? Noeme and Yugao?" Naruto sighed. "The Hokage said that Itachi is free from his crime!" Yugao stood ready to fight as she answered. "The Hokage only has so much power, my order comes from higher up."

Naruto was confused. "Who has more power than the Hokage?" Itachi frowned and turned to face Yugao. "The head of the ANBU Black Ops can override the Hokage's decision if he finds the Hokage as 'unable' to perform his duties." Naruto became angry. "The Hokage is perfectly 'able' to handle his duties!"

"It seems like the Hidden Leaf is in turmoil, perfect." They all turned to see where the voice had come from. The man walked out from behind a tree. He had a large sword on his back and blue shark-like skin. Itachi instantly turned toward the man and readied his kunai. "Kisame Hoshigake, what do you want?"

Naruto looked at Kisame. "That's the man who wanted Itachi to join the Akatsuki?" Kisame smiled. "Didn't I tell you? Since you rejected our gracious invitation, you must die." Naruto became worried. They were surrounded on three sides. Noeme in front of them, Yugao on the right side, and Kisame on the left. "Itachi-sensei, this is bad." Itachi nodded in agreement. "Are you sure that you can take Noeme by yourself?" Naruto nodded.

"We don't want the chance of friendly fire in this fight. I want you to lead Noeme to the other side of the bridge. I will deal with Yugao and Kisame." Naruto nodded and jumped over Noeme. "What the—" Before Noeme could finish, Naruto grabbed Noeme's shirt and threw him all the way to the other side of the bridge. Naruto looked back at Itachi and nodded. When Itachi nodded back, Naruto ran over to fight Noeme.

Tenchi Bridge (Itachi's Side)

Itachi jumped back towards the edge of the bridge. He could now see both Yugao and Kisame clearly. He looked at Kisame. "Why now? Why did you wait until now to come after me?" Kisame smiled. "When we heard that Orochimaru was planning to attack the Hidden Leaf, it was decided that it would be the perfect time to catch you off-guard." Yugao jumped over to Itachi, but instead of attacking him, she turned toward Kisame.

"Right now, Kisame poses more of a threat than you, Itachi. Let us work together to fight him." Itachi was suspicious. "Why help me?" Yugao hesitated. "If Kisame is allowed to fight you alone, and wins, there is no telling what he will do with your body. My orders are to bring you back, alive." Itachi flinched. *Alive? What could the ANBU possibly want with me?"* Kisame unsheathed his sword. "What are we waiting for? This should be fun."

xXxXxXxXxXx Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold xXxXxXxXxXx

Kisame ran straight for them with his sword hanging behind him. He jumped forward and slashed. Itachi and Yugao both jumped out of the way and ran around Kisame. They ran towards Kisame from opposite sides. Kisame smiled and swung his sword in a 360. Yugao was its first target, but instead of trying to block, Yugao ducked beneath it. Itachi believed that Yugao would block the sword, but was sadly mistaken as it struck him across the face. Itachi was thrown back into a tree as Yugao unsheathed her sword and swung at Kisame. Kisame effortlessly blocked and pushed Yugao away.

Itachi stood up and looked at Yugao. He could not see her face under the mask, but he knew that she had planned that. *I have to watch out for her.* He looked back at Kisame who was preparing a jutsu. He aimed it at Yugao. "Annoying pest, let's see how you like this." Kisame waved his hands and slammed them to the ground. "Water Shockwave Jutsu!" A tidal wave appeared from nowhere and sped towards Yugao. Itachi took his chance and threw several shuriken at Kisame, then made a few handsigns. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." The flaming orb raced towards Kisame, engulfing the shuriken to make a deadly mix of metal and flame. Yugao swung her sword with immense speed and shouted, "Wind Style: Shattering Blade!"The wind generated from the blade ripped straight through the water and was cutting off Kisame's escape.

Without hesistation, Kisame jumped straight up, which was his mistake. The wind slash and fireball collided. The elements complimented eachother as the fireball grew to a massive size and changed direction. It flew up and engulfed Kisame in a ball of fire. As the fire settled, Kisame was seen falling to the ground. He landed hard. Itachi was the first to approach him. He was extremely cautious of Yugao and kept his eye on her. Before he could get too close, Kisame's body dissolved into water. Itachi tried to jump back but was too late. Kisame was behind him and had a hand on him. "Water Prison."A sphere of water enveloped Itachi before he could escape. Kisame then split in two and both halves regenerated with water. "Yugao, if you would like Itachi, come and get him.

Yugao didn't hesitate and threw multiple kunai and shuriken at the water clone that was holding Itachi. Kisame moved in front of the shuriken to block. However, it was only a distraction. A shadow clone of Yugao appeared behind the water clone and she quickly destroyed it. Kisame turned and made a few handsigns. "I don't think so little girl. Water Shark Shotgun Jutsu!" Three enourmous sharks made of hard water swam through the air at Itachi and Yugao. Itachi knew what was going to happen next. Yugao jumped out of the way without releasing Itachi. The sharks hit Itachi hard, knocking him out of the sphere. He was stopped by a tree, but he knew that he wasn't winning this.

Itachi decided that it was time for drastic measures. *This will take almost all of my chakra, but I must escape with Naruto. The sooner we get out of their reach, the better.* Itachi made one handsign and prepared his chakra. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu." Hundreds of clones were made and scattered between the three of them.

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Tenchi Bridge (Naruto's Side)

Naruto prepared himself as Noeme stood up. "You little brat! I'll make you pay for that." Naruto was not amused. He simply stared at Noeme with his weapon ready. Noeme got angry. "What's up with you? What are you staring at!?" Naruto smirked. "Let's finish this quickly, my sensei needs my help." Noeme smiled eagerly and charged at Naruto.

xXxXxXxXxXx Seek and Destroy by Metallica xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto was ready for anything Noeme could throw at him. Noeme ran forward and drew his sword. It streaked sideways as he slashed at Naruto, but Naruto was already gone. Noeme turned and was punched in the face by Naruto's left hook. Noeme went flying. Before he could even land, Naruto was above him. "Reverse Seal: Single Prong."Naruto brought his heel crashing down onto Noeme with great force. Noeme hit the ground hard as Naruto's heel dug in. Naruto jumped back and watched as Noeme tried to stand. "You little brat, I'll make you pay for that."

Naruto smirked as he watched Noeme. He decided that it was best to end this sooner than later. Naruto took a few shuriken out of his pouch and readied them. As soon as Noeme stood up, Naruto threw the shuriken. "Shadow Shuriken Jutsu."The shuriken multiplied at flew towards Noeme. Noeme smirked. He stood and waited for the shuriken to hit him, and as soon as one touched him, the shuriken dissappeared! Naruto stood in awe as each one of the shuriken was enveloped by Noeme's body. Noeme grinned ear to ear. While he was still absorbing the shuriken, he held his hand up. The shuriken flew out of his hand, back at Naruto. Naruto tried to dodge but he had made too many shuriken. He was scraped a few times but was able to dodge before he sustained any serious injuries. Noeme laughed. "You see Naruto, I have learned new tricks. And this time I will beat you."

Naruto stood up and paid no attention to where he had been hit. He watched Noeme carefully. "Does he have any other tricks I should know about?" Naruto eyed Noeme cautiously, then ran forward. Naruto took out a kunai and slashed at Noeme's neck. But it was a feint. Noeme blocked the slash and left himself open. Naruto brought in his foot and caught Noeme in the side. He didn't feel anything at first, but then he heard a crack and saw Noeme's body start moving. But his foot was stuck inside of Noeme. The two of them were thrown to the ground in a very ungraceful manner. Noeme panicked and his jutsu fell apart, releasing Naruto's foot. Naruto thought to himself, "I guess he only learned that one jutsu." He jumped back and put a little pressure on his leg. He winced in pain as he put pressure on it. *Broken.* Naruto looked over at Noeme to see if he had sustained any damage. He looked like nothing had happened, but Naruto swore he heard a cracking of bones. *Was it just my own foot breaking?* Naruto decided that there was only one way to find out. He tried to stand and pushed through the pain. He threw a kunai at where he thought Noeme's broken rib was. It hit Noeme and he screamed in agony. Naruto was panting now. "At least it wasn't just me." He thought to himself as he leaned on a tree.

Naruto thought about what he would do next. Just then, a clone of Itachi appeared on each side of Noeme, surrounding him. "Itachi-sensei!" Itachi seemed to pay no attention, but each clone made a handsign. "Fire Style: Clone Explosion."

xXxXxXxXxXx End Song xXxXxXxXxXx

Naruto was blown back by the shockwave and thrown into a tree. The four clones had exploded with such force that he knew Noeme hadn't survived. However, he heard more than one explosion. He looked across the bridge to Itachi's side. It was covered with smoke. Naruto knew that if Itachi was desperate enough to use his massive clone explosion, he was not winning. Naruto used what little healing jutsu he knew to attempt to repair his foot. It wasn't great, but it was the best he could do. He stood up and started walking to the other side of the bridge.

Tenchi Bridge (Itachi's Side)

Itachi was panting heavily. He had used much more chakra than he was accustomed to. The instant he summoned the clones, he knew that it was a mistake. He had made too many, and made the explosion too big. "I have to get away with Naruto, now!" He struggled to keep from falling. He walked slowly towards the bridge. "Argh!" Itachi suddenly felt a pain in his back. He knew he was finished, but at least Kisame would give him a quick death, hopefully.

Itachi fell to his knees and coughed up blood. "Itachi," the voice was feminine! It was Yugao that stabbed him in the back. "I'm sorry, but it is time that you come with me." Itachi couldn't believe it. He fell and twisted his body. The kunai was pulled out painfully, but at least he fell on his back so that he could see Yugao before he lost consciousnous. His vision was getting blurry, but he was definitely looking at Yugao.

Yugao frowned. "I'm sorry, Itachi. I wish there was another way." Itachi smiled. "Yugao.." his lungs were failing him. "I love you." Yugao flinched and tears came to her eyes. "I know. I truly wish there was another way." Itachi's head fell back and she quickly scooped him up. "Stop it! Yugao!" Yugao turned to see Naruto, now crawling across the bridge. He held his hand up, then it fell to the ground. It was clear that he was in shock from the pain. Yugao turned and headed towards the Hidden Leaf.

Uchiha Hideout

Naruto woke with a jolt. He instantly regretted it as he could still feel the pain in his leg. He groaned in pain and almost instantly, Hinata was next to him. "Naruto! You're awake!" She hugged him, which caused him to tense up in pain. She released him suddenly and he fell back to his bed. Before she could apologize, Naruto smiled and motioned that he was ok.

Shino walked in and looked at Naruto. "See Hinata? I told you he would be fine. I'm not that bad at healing." Hinata sighed and looked at Naruto. Naruto looked around. "I'm in...my room?" Shino nodded. "What happened Naruto? One second Hinata and I are walking through the forest on a mission, the next we saw a giant rock out of place and we found ourselves here." Naruto looked confused. Then he remembered. "The NineTails must have willed my body to crawl to the hideout!" He suddenly came to the realization of what happpened. "Itachi has been taken by Yugao!" Hinata and Shino stared at him. "What do you mean Naruto? How could that happen?" Naruto became frustrated, and just noticed that he had a throbbing headache. "We, we were surrounded…on three sides…Itachi tried to take them both on…I should have been better."

Hinata looked worried. She didn't understand what he was saying. And apparently, neither did Shino. "Naruto, who surrounded you?" Shino asked. Naruto stared at the bed. "Yugao came from the right, Kisame, a member of the Akatsuki, came from the left. Noeme come from in front." Hinata looked worried. "A member of the Akatsuki? What did he want?"

Naruto shook his head violently. "It doesn't matter! I have to save Itachi!" Naruto stood up instantly but his headache, along with his still broken leg, made him lose his balance. Hinata was fast and caught him in her arms. She sighed in relief and sat him back down on the bed. "Calm down Naruto. You can't do anything with that broken leg."

Naruto was close to tears. He had failed his sensei. Failed himself. He put his hand on his leg where it was broken. Just then, a seal appeared above his leg. It was green and at Naruto's touch, it became three-dimensional and shattered. The three of them looked at Naruto's leg and watched in awe. They could see the bone moving inside his skin, re-adjusting. Naruto heard a pop, followed by a brief pain. He put his hand back on his leg. It was healed!

"What just happened?" Hinata asked. Naruto didn't say anything and instead tried to stand. Hinata was wary and Shino tensed. Naruto put weight on his foot and balanced. "My foot, it doesn't hurt anymore." Shino was suspicious. "How can that be? Just a moment ago it was broken." Naruto shook his head, confused. "It was the seal. The seal was green, which means that it heals. But how did it get there?"

Hinata sighed. "However it got there, I'm glad you're ok now Naruto." Naruto nodded in agreement and walked out of his room. Hinata and Shino instinctively followed. They watched Naruto, noticing that he was still in shock. Shino spoke first. "Naruto, what do you plan to do?" Naruto turned around to look at them. Determination was clear in his face. "I must save Itachi."

"Naruto, if he was taken by Yugao, then he's probably at the ANBU Headquarters in the Hidden Leaf. You can't possibly believe that they will just let you in." Hinata protested. "No." Naruto said. "I'll have to break in." Hinata gasped and Shino shook his head dissapprovingly. "You can't be serious Naruto." Shino said. "You would be killed the moment you trespassed." Naruto nodded. "I know, but I have to try."

Hinata stared in disbelief. She knew that Itachi meant a lot to Naruto, probably more than she will ever know, but she wasn't going to let him risk his life. "I'll come with you." Hinata said before she could stop herself. "As will I." Shino added. Naruto shook his head. "No, I cannot let you two risk your lives for me." Hinata immediately protested. "Naruto, we are a team, let's do this together!" Naruto looked at Hinata. Tears were forming in her eyes.

"Naruto," her voice was shakey, "please." Naruto thought hard. "Alright, but on one condition." Both Hinata and Shino tensed. "I go in alone. That way, if I get caught, neither of you will have commited any crime." Hinata was going to protest, but the look Shino gave her told her not to. "…Ok, Naruto." Naruto sighed in relief, and hugged Hinata. "Thank you Hinata." He let her go sooner than she would have liked, and turned to Shino. "And thank you too, Shino." Shino nodded.

Naruto looked around the hideout. "Now, there has got to be something around here that can help us find out how to get to Itachi-sensei." Naruto walked over to Itachi's room and hesitated. He laughed nervously. "Itachi told me to never go in here without his explicit permission. It reminds me of the time…" Naruto remembered something. "Where is my scroll?" Hinata and Shino looked puzzled. "What scroll?" Hinata asked.

Naruto walked fast around the hideout, checking each room. "My weapon scroll, where is it?" Hinata looked at Naruto with a worried look. "I didn't see a scroll Naruto." Shino joined in, "Neither did I." Naruto walked faster and began to panic. *That scroll cost a fortune, not to mention the weapons inside of it.* Naruto stopped in his tracks, and laughed. He laughed so hard that Hinata became worried. "Naruto?"

"I'm so stupid!" Naruto said as he laughed. Once he stopped laughing, he made a few handsigns. "Scroll Transfer Jutsu."The scroll appeared under Naruto's hand. "That's better." He said as he unsealed the scroll. He sighed as he saw that both Claw and Serra were still inside. But he noticed that something else was inside as well. It was a smaller scroll that wasn't there last time he had checked. "What is this?" Naruto said, almost to himself.

Hinata and Shino watched Naruto unseal the scroll. His eyes widened in realization. "This, this is the training schedule for my trip with Itachi!" Hinata gasped. "What?" She said. Naruto picked it up with disbelief. He read it aloud:

Naruto,

I wrote this just in case something happened to me during our trip that seperated us. This is a list of everything that I was going to teach you during the next six months. If for some reason I am unable to train you myself, I trust that you will find a way to train yourself until we are able to meet up.

1. Greater Chakra Control

2. Chakra Nature

3. Imbuing Weapons with Chakra

4. Improved Clone Jutsu

5. Alchemy

6. New Jutsu Creation

7. Sharingan Resistance

I know you will do well, until next we meet.
Itachi

The three of them were silent. Hinata was the first to break the silence. "Naruto, what do you think this means?" Naruto was quiet. "It means that he knew this was going to happen, and that now," He turned to look at them, "we train."

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! It took me longer than I would have liked to finish, but I finally did it and can go on to the next chapter. Go to my profile page to check out the poll. I need as many votes as possible. This is your chance to take control, don't miss it! PLEASE REVIEW!