We are moving along quite nicely. At this rate I should be able to finish this ark in a month and a half. I re-read chapter 27 and plan on making a few changes to it. Please remember that this is my first fanfiction and I plan on correcting any mistakes I made in previous chapters. That will have to wait until I finish this ark though. For now, on to day 5!

Uchiha Hideout

Naruto woke up and went about his daily routine. He got some fruit from the kitchen and looked at the letter from Itachi to see what was next on the list. Naruto yawned. "It looks like alchemy is next on the list." Naruto stared blankly for a minute and then turned to see Shino walking out of his room. "Uh, Shino, what is alchemy?"

Shino shook his head and laughed. "Naruto, alchemy is a skill that focuses on mixing different things found in nature to make things like salves and poisons." Naruto nodded and looked back at the scroll. "Didn't you learn that in the academy?" Naruto shrugged. "Itachi-sensei taught me how to make basic poisons and pills, but he always called it mixing. So when we learned that in the academy, I just called it mixing."

Shino nodded and walked over to the scroll that Naruto was looking at. "So the next thing on the list is alchemy huh? Well maybe you should talk to Sakura. She was always interested in that kind of stuff." Naruto nodded. "What are you going to do Shino?" Shino walked over to the chakra room and opened the door. "If you don't mind, I was going to help Hinata train her water nature. Maybe even help my insects become more resistant to water. Right now they can swim, but that's about it."

Naruto smiled and walked towards the front of the hideout. "That sounds like a good idea. I'll go get Hinata and send her here." Shino nodded and thanked him as Naruto jumped out of the hideout.

Hidden Leaf Village (Park)

A mysterious black shadow was sitting in a tree. It had taken awhile to get there but it was just glad it made it this far. The shadow looked around and surveyed the area. It had already been to the Hyuuga mansion. It witnessed the talk that Naruto and Hinata had about a new jutsu. The shadow did not know where to go next though.

The shadow decided that the best thing to do was find out where Naruto planned on going next. The shadow took the shape of a bird. It grew wings and a beak but remained black as night. It flapped its wings a few times to prepare itself, and then flew off of the branch in search of its target, Naruto Uzumaki.

Hyuuga Mansion

Hinata was brushing her hair in her room. It had grown slightly longer than she usually kept it and she was trying to arrange it so that Naruto would like it. She finally got her hair to lay perfectly and she sighed as she sat down. She was a little worried about her relationship with Naruto. They worked well together, but with everything that was going on the two of them hardly had any time to just be together.

Hinata frowned. "There are a lot of things going on right now. Hopefully it will get better once we rescue Itachi." With that, Hinata walked out of her room and down the stairs as she heard a knock at her door. She opened it and was surprised to see Naruto.

"Naruto…" Hinata was at a loss of words and stared blankly. *What if he heard what I said? I know he has good hearing. Oh I hope I didn't just mess things up.* Naruto tilted his head to one side. "Uh, Hinata, are you ok?" Hinata snapped out of it and shook her head furiously. "Yes, I'm ok Naruto. Sorry I just kind of drifted off." Naruto looked at her funny and then smiled. "That's not like you Hinata. Are you sure you are ok?"

Hinata nodded and smiled. "Yes I am ok. What are we doing today?" Naruto frowned. "Actually, the plan was for you and Shino to train some more with your water nature." Hinata was confused. "What are you going to do?" Naruto sighed. "The next thing on the list for me to do is to learn alchemy. But Shino said that the only person he knows that might be able to teach me is Sakura."

Hinata frowned. "So you are spending the day with Sakura?" Naruto waved his hands in front of him. "No it's not like that. I'm hoping that she can lead me to someone with more experience in alchemy." Hinata nodded but was still frowning. "It will be alright Hinata. I know we havn't been able to be together for awhile, but how about we go get something to eat tonight?" Hinata tilted her head. "Are you sure?" Naruto smiled. "Yeah, we could use a break from training for time together."

Hinata smiled. "Ok, I would like that." Naruto pulled her into a hug. "Don't worry, things will get better." Hinata tensed up then became relaxed. "So you did hear me…" Naruto let her go and smiled. "Yeah, so don't worry ok?" Hinata smiled and nodded. "Shino is waiting for you at the hideout. I'll see you tonight." With that, Naruto kissed her and left to go find Sakura.

Hidden Leaf Village (Academy)

Sakura was working on a jutsu when she saw Naruto come around the corner. She tried to concentrate on what she was doing but found that she was too distracted. It didn't matter much anyway since Naruto walked right up to her. "Hey Sakura, I have a question." Sakura turned her head to see him but kept her hands busy. "Yeah? What is it Naruto?" She sounded more rude than she wanted to be and quickly apologized. "Oh, sorry Naruto I didn't mean to say it like that."

Sakura laughed nervously. Naruto could tell that something was on her mind. "Are you ok Sakura?" Sakura nodded. "Of course I'm ok. Why is there something wrong with me? Is it my hair?" Naruto waved his hands in front of him. "No it's not that, you just seemed like something was on your mind." Sakura blinked and blushed.

After a few awkward moments Naruto continued. "Anyway, do you know someone who knows how to use alchemy really well?" Sakura nodded but still looked shy. "Yes. Mrs. Yamanaka is an excellent alchemist, but I don't know where she is right now. You would have to ask Ino." Naruto nodded. "Ok, thanks Sakura."

Naruto turned to leave. "Naruto, wait." Sakura called to him and Naruto turned around. Sakura shuffled her feet nervously and looked down and away. Naruto had a feeling that he knew what would happen next. "I have been thinking for awhile, about you. And I was just wondering, if you aren't with Hinata, would you like to hang out sometime?" Sakura took a deep breath and closed her eyes, waiting for the answer she dreaded.

She didn't hear one for awhile and opened her eyes to see what Naruto was doing. Naruto was smiling, but it also looked like he was frowning at the same time. "I'm sorry Sakura. We can hang out sometime, but it would be as friends. Hinata and I have been together for awhile now and I don't want to mess that up. She is already worried that we don't spend enough time together."

Sakura frowned and nodded slowly. "Ok, I understand." Naruto gave a fake smile. "Besides, you don't know me that well and right now isn't a good time anyways." Sakura nodded again. "I would like to get to know you better then. As friends." Naruto smiled. "Sure, I'll see you later Sakura." Naruto jumped off to go find Ino, leaving a sad Sakura behind.

Uchiha Hideout

Shino and Hinata had been sparring for a little over an hour when Shino stopped suddenly. "What's wrong Shino?" Hinata asked. Shino stood silent for awhile before answering. "What do you think will happen when Naruto rescues Itachi?" Hinata tilted her head and looked confused. "Um, I guess we will have to leave the village for awhile."

"Where do we go?" Shino asked. "It's not like we have many allies outside of the Hidden Leaf. We have a very new alliance with the Hidden Sand, but who knows how long that will last." Hinata frowned and spoke up. "We will think of something. Even if we have to wander for awhile until things calm down, Naruto knows what to do. He was taught by Itachi to live without being supported through a village."

Shino shook his head. "I don't know. We need an actual plan. We have to know where we will go after we resue Itachi. Maybe he will know. He must have some connections outside of the Hidden Leaf." Hinata nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Naruto mentioned a long time ago that Itachi had many friends outside of the village." She smiled. "We should talk to Naruto when he gets back." Hinata became slightly upset when she remembered what Naruto was doing.

Shino saw her concern. "I know that you probably don't like that Naruto has to spend the day with Sakura. Don't worry about him. You know he has to get stronger so he can save Itachi. Actually, he is not only training for Itachi." Shino paused and waited for Hinata to catch on, but she didn't. Shino sighed as she looked at him while patiently waiting for the rest. "He is training to protect you, Hinata." She blushed hard.

"But, why would he want to protect me?" Shino laughed. "Come on Hinata, you know why. You two are together, and Naruto has always been the protective type." Hinata nodded. "But he doesn't need to protect me. I've been getting stronger too." Shino smiled and shook his head. "It has nothing to do with how strong you become Hinata. It isn't because he thinks you need protected. It's because he wants to be your hero. He wants to be the one you always look up to."

Shino paused and Hinata started to blush again. "He has always wanted to play the hero, but now it is even more important to him because he can be the hero of someone he loves." Hinata smiled.

Shino shrugged. "Anyways, there is one other outcome we have not talked about yet." Hinata looked up and her smile instantly vanished. "What do you mean, Shino?" He turned around and took a few steps, then stopped. "What if Naruto fails?" It hit Hinata like a wall, knocking all of the air out of her. It took her a minute to breathe. "What are you talking about?"

Shino sighed and kept his back to her. "You know what I mean. What if Naruto fails to rescue Itachi and is captured?" Hinata started to panic and began to stutter. "B-but, there is no way that Naruto could be c-captured, right?" Shino shook his head and turned back to face her. Tears were forming in her eyes. "Hinata, the ANBU Black Ops is made up of the top ninja in the Hidden Leaf. They are the best of the best. Most of them are jounin."

Hinata didn't say anything for awhile. She didn't want to admit it, but Shino was right. They need a plan if the worst happens. "What will you do Shino?" Shino took a deep breath. "If Naruto were to fail, we would not have that many choices. The ANBU most likely already know that you and I are helping Naruto and that we are planning to break out Itachi. I doubt that they will just let us go back to living normal lives."

Hinata shook her head. "No, " she said with a determined look in her eyes. "I will not give up on Naruto. Even if he gets captured…" She hesitated and took a breath. "If Naruto gets captured then I will save him myself!" Hinata looked confident and believed what she was saying.

Shino just shook his head. "I don't mean to be a downer, Hinata. But that would not be the best plan. You would most likely just walk into a trap. " Hinata frowned and looked deflated. "What should we do then?" Shino tilted his head to each side and his neck popped. "I say we follow Naruto in. We wait for him to get pretty far ahead of us, and then we go in behind him. We provide back-up."

Hinata continued to frown and protested. "Naruto won't agree to that. He wants us to stay behind and wait for him to come back." Shino looked at Hinata with a fierce look in his eyes that meant he was serious. Hinata had never seen Shino this way. It scared her. "Hinata, if we don't back Naruto up, he might not come back. I know that you don't want to disappoint Naruto by ignoring what he says, but we are a team. And as a team, we look out for eachother."

Hinata sighed and nodded. "You are right. We have to be there for Naruto, whether he wants us there or not." Shino smiled. "That's what I'm thinking. Now then, let's get off this dreaded subject and get back to training, alright?" Hinata nodded. "Yes!"

Hidden Leaf Village (Yamanaka House)

Naruto walked up to the house and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, he heard someone say something about 'getting interuppted' and then he heard footsteps coming to the door. When it opened, he got a reaction that he did not expect. "Oh, hi Naruto! What are you doing here? Oh my, I'm a mess! I must look awful!" Naruto laughed nervously as Ino rambled on.

"Anyway, how are you?" Naruto smiled. "I'm doing fine, is your mom home?" Ino looked at him with a confused face. "Um, yeah, sure. Why?" Naruto continued to smile even though his instincts told him not to. "I need someone to teach me alchemy and Sakura said that your mom is an expert."

Ino's eyes started to shine. "Oh yes, of course she is an expert! She is the best alchemist ninja in the village." Ino was smiling bright and was waiting for Naruto to say something. Naruto stood calmly. *Oh no, not Ino too? I don't like having fan-girls.*

After a long awkward moment, Naruto asked a question. "So do you think your mom could teach me?" Ino put her finger on her chin and looked up, pretending to think. "Hmm, I don't know." She said sarcastically. She stuck her hand out for Naruto to grab. Naruto brushed it away lightly. Ino's mind immediately changed. "Oh, she can't she's really busy right now. She has so much to do today and she most likely won't be free for another month or so."

Naruto sighed. *She isn't going to make this easy is she?* Naruto shrugged. "Are you sure she can't squeeze me in? It won't take long." Ino stuck her hand out towards Naruto once again and just waited. Naruto faked a smile and took her hand. Ino's mood changed again. "Oh yes! I'm sure she can make some time for you Naruto!" Ino smiled and dragged Naruto inside.

Naruto didn't like where this was going. *Hinata would kill me if she saw this.* Just before Ino closed the door, Naruto thought he saw something in a tree outside her house. But before he could get a better look, Ino slammed the door and led Naruto by the hand.

Hidden Leaf Village (hours later)

The pitch black pird was pirched on a branch outside a restaurant. It was well aware of everything that was going on. Naruto was training to save Itachi. He planned on breaking in through the Hokage Mountain, where the fewest amount of guards were stationed. It was a brilliant plan, but it required speed and precision. As far as it could tell, Naruto had not mastered either of those.

The bird sat for awhile until it saw two figures approaching the restaurant. Naruto and Hinata were walking towards the restaurant. They were most likely on a date. The bird decided to shake its feathers and flew off. Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata drew closer to the restaurant. They were holding hands.

"I'm glad that we can still go out like this Naruto." Naruto nodded. "Me too. It has been bothering me for awhile that we haven't been able to do things like this. But it can't be helped with everything that is going on." Hinata walked in front of Naruto and blocked him from going further. Naruto was about to speak when she put a finger to his lips. He stopped and she leaned in to kiss him.

When they finally broke off, Naruto was surprised when he saw that Hinata wasn't blushing. She was just smiling. "No talk of the mission tonight, Naruto. Let's take our minds off of it and enjoy being together." Naruto smiled and looked into her shining eyes. "I couldn't agree more." They walked into the restaurant, fingers entwined in eachother's.

Thanks for reading! I hope the way Ino and Sakura acted didn't bother anyone. Since they tend to fall for strong guys and Naruto wiped the floor with Sasuke in the academy, they both have a crush on Naruto. Don't worry, it won't last long. We are getting closer to the end of this arc so vote in my poll to make your voice heard! Leave a review and I'll see you guys later!