A.N.:If you are reading this, I thank you for following my story this far. So please read on and review, I would really appreciate more of them. No on with the story.

A.N.2: Now reposted with less grammar and spelling errors.

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say it again? O.K. So for the sake of morons and lawyers: I don't own Naruto. There. Satisfied?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Council chamber~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The morning after it had happened Sarutobi found himself in the Council chamber again, and once again listening to the enraged shouts of the councilors. It was becoming a disturbingly common occurrence lately.

"We have to launch a search, the culprits can be still nearby," somebody shouted, the Hokage didn't recognize his voice in the racket.

"What can they do against a force that massacred a whole elite ninja clan?" That was the Kurama clan head.

"It must have been the demon, who else." It was Satoru who said it. Who else, indeed.

"Impossible," Inuzuka Tsume stated. "He isn't even in Konoha."

"How do you know?" Satoru demanded. He seemed just about ready to call her the demon's accomplice.

"He's away on a mission. His team left four days ago, packed for a long trip. They haven't returned yet," the Inuzuka matriarch explained.

"And how do you know that? And since when is the demon a shinobi?" Satoru demanded angrily.

"I know because he's on a team with my daughter. And since when – I think around two months ago," Tsume answered.

"And you agreed to it?" Satoru asked incredulously.

"Why shouldn't I?" the dog mistress shrugged. "My daughter wasn't complaining so neither was I."

"Why weren't we informed about the demon becoming a shinobi?" one civilian councilwoman demanded turning to the Sandaime. "Why was it even allowed?"

"I have total command over Konoha's shinobi forces, as you should know," the Hokage stated calmly. "I don't have do share my decisions with anybody. And why was Uzumaki Naruto allowed to become a ninja? He passed the genin test."

"That wasn't what she meant," Satoru snapped. The Hokage had known very well that this wasn't what Satoru meant and ignored it purposefully. "That beast is dangerous. Everybody knows it. And now even more so."

"You must have different information than me," the Professor replied. "I am unaware of any incident involving Uzumaki Naruto attacking anyone. And besides, we gathered here to discuss a completely different matter, namely the massacre of the Uchiha clan."

"That's right," Yamanaka Inoichi said. "Since we determined it couldn't possibly be the work of the Kyuubi, who was it? Are there any clues?"

"Not yet," the Third answered. It wasn't like he could disclose what had really happened. Fortunately he was very skilled in lying and obfuscating. "The evidence points to only a small group of attackers. We have to wait for Uchiha Sasuke to wake and enlighten us."

"That might take too long," Hyuuga Hiashi pointed out.

"I assure we are doing everything in our power to determine the culprits," the Hokage stated. Nobody could tell just how big a lie this was.

"When will you have them?"

"They cannot get away with it!"

"We have to show our strength!"

The room descended into chaos again. Sarutobi sighed. This was going to be a long session. A very long one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~At the village gates~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The whole squad was stunned. The Uchiha clan, the strongest, one of the founding clans of Konoha, massacred? Obliterated? It was incomprehensible.

"Who did it?" Hana asked.

"Are there any survivors?" Hotaru inquired at the same time. Shunsui, she thought. Her snotty, arrogant, insufferable, but undeniably skilled teammate. They have never been close, at times she even hated him and his awesome eyes he had been so proud of, but she never wished anything bad happen to him. Please let him be alive.

"There is one," the chuunin answered, "but he's bad off."

"Who?" Hotaru couldn't wait to know, but also dreaded the answer. Please let it be Shunsui.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the man crushed her hopes. Not Shunsui. Not Shunsui. Her annoying haughty teammate, all around pain in the neck, but also her comrade during countless hours of training and several missions, was dead. They parted ways quite some times ago, but still she had trouble coming to terms with the fact he was truly gone.

She barely noticed when Tenzo urged them to report their mission success. She just stood there silently during the debriefing, forgetting to speak when she was asked to clarify something. She was just relieved when they were finally dismissed. She somehow found her way home and locked herself in, not going out for a full day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Inuzuka clan compound~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm home," Hana announced.

"Hi, honey," her mother greeted. "How was your mission? And have you heard what happened here yet?"

"We succeeded and yes, I did," the girl answered.

"Terrible, isn't it," the clan matriarch said.

"It is," her daughter nodded, "though Hotaru seemed to be hit the worst."

"I'm not surprised," Tsume replied. "She used to be on a team with one of them."

"I didn't know that," the girl looked up in surprise.

"You seem to know little about your team," the older woman commented.

"I know," Hana admitted with a tiny sliver of shame. "I just didn't feel like talking to them, and they weren't too open either. I couldn't stand them the first time I saw them, but I eventually got used to them. But we are now becoming a true team."

"That's good to hear," the clan head stated. "I was getting worried for you there."

"At times I was worried too," the girl confessed. "But that isn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What then?" The clan head raised an eyebrow.

"Something happened during the mission," the young kunoichi started.

"Were you hurt?" the mother worried. "Or did something happen to the Haimaru siblings?"

"No," Hana assured her, "nothing happened to us. It's about Naruto."

Tsume immediately went on alert. Her daughter didn't miss on it. "What is it?"

"We were scouting the mountains, and Naruto fell down a slope," the genin started her story. "It was high and steep and he should have ended up scattered into a thousand tiny pieces, but he survived. He was badly hurt and had to lie in the snow for a whole night, but he pulled through. He suffered multiple fractures and internal damage, but he was able to walk after only two days and another two and he was completely healthy. When I asked about it, they said it was something like a bloodline, but I've never heard of anything like it. And Naruto seemed skittish, like he was concealing something. And that's not all." She took a deep breath. "When he was falling, I felt something. I couldn't recognize it, but it felt sinister and powerful. It disappeared just as suddenly as it appeared. I'm sure I've felt it somewhere before, but I can't remember."

The older woman stayed silent for a while, carefully considering her next words. "I'm afraid I can't give you an explanation. The only one who can speak about it is Naruto."

"But he isn't willing to do so," Hana replied. "And it isn't the only strange thing about him. He possesses a nearly endless well of energy, it took a full day of running at top speed to make him tired. And there is the matter of the way most of the villagers look at him. Like he committed something terrible. I've heard some rumors, but they sound far-fetched. He's just a child, he couldn't have possibly done some of those things. Sure he can be annoying, but no more than Kiba. Nothing about it makes any sense." She finished her tirade with a questioning look at the other woman.

"I understand that you're confused, but I cannot give you any explanation," her mother shook her head. "You'll have to ask him or find an answer yourself. But be prepared for an answer you won't like."

"What do you mean?" the girl inquired with surprise.

"I can't tell you," Tsume replied.

"I understand," Hana said. She felt more confused and intrigued than ever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hokage's office~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Everything appears to be in order," the Professor concluded his examination. It took a long time, but he was being exceptionally thorough. It just wouldn't do to rush something like this. "The seal is working as it is supposed to."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Tenzo said.

"So everything is okay?" the jinchuuriki half asked fastening his shirt.

"Yes, Naruto, everything is alright," the old village leader smiled reassuringly. "You may go now. Tenzo, stay. I have to speak to you about something."

"Sure. Bye," Naruto called running through the door. He slammed it behind him and then he was gone.

The former ANBU stood calmly and waited for his superior to begin.

"As you know," Sarutobi started, "the village has recently suffered a huge blow both to our strength and our reputation, but we cannot afford to appear weak. We should show the prowess of our youngest generation. The Chuunin Exams start in Kusa in a little over a month. Is your team capable of competing? They don't have to succeed, just put on a good show."

"Hokage-sama, I'm afraid I cannot allow them to enter now," the jounin-sensei answered sadly. "If you have read the last mission report, you would know that they are still unready, all of them prone to acting rash. Naruto is just too young, inexperienced and hotheaded, Hana is still hurting from the loss of her old team and Hotaru just suffered a blow and I don't know how she would deal. If I entered them now, chances are they would get slaughtered. I believe that they would be eligible for the next term, but not just now."

"I understand," the elderly man nodded. "In half a year then."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Memorial stone~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hotaru didn't visit the Memorial Stone often, but she could immediately see the difference. So many names had been added since she last saw it. The Memorial Stone was meant for shinobi killed in the line of duty, but defending themselves from an unknown attacker was considered the line of duty. So the names of all Uchiha shinobi adorned the Stone now.

She knelt down next to the memorial and began reading. There were so many she didn't know and others she knew only in passing. She couldn't even assign the names to most of the faces. It took her a while to find her teammate's name near the bottom. She traced her fingers along the symbols. Uchiha Shunsui. He had been a talented shinobi, just like most of his clansmen, and though he wasn't exceptional, he had a bright career before him. And now he was just another name on the stone. He won't do any more missions, won't make jounin, won't sneer at her again... well, there was a reason she hadn't liked him when he had been still alive. But no matter his faults, he didn't deserve this.

She stood there for a while, she couldn't tell how long, and just stared at the name. Then a rustle of leaves brought her out of her reverie. She saw a man in the standard shinobi uniform land near the stone and kneel down next to her. Well, there had to be more people that had friends in the Uchiha clan. In fact, it was a bit odd that there weren't more mourners. Maybe they were too busy looking for the culprits. Or maybe they weren't dwelling on the dead and dealt with the living instead. And maybe she should be doing the same. She had a new team now. She might not like it too much, but it was her life now.

She turned around and left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When the team disbanded after their training in the evening, Hana joined Hotaru on her way home. The purple-haired kunoichi wanted just to be left alone and pointedly ignored her companion, but the brunette wasn't deterred so easily.

"I heard one of them was your former teammate," she started. Hotaru just nodded. She didn't want anybody poking their nose in it and hoped the Inuzuka would get the hint. But she wasn't so lucky. "I know it hurts, but don't let the pain get to you."

"And just what do you know?" the sword wielder snapped.

"I lost my old team too," the Inuzuka explained. "It happened on a mission. I was scouting ahead and they were attacked from behind. I spent a long time just wondering if I could help them had I been with them. I'm still not over it, but I'm trying."

"And you're telling me this just why?" Hotaru barely looked at her. She really didn't want to talk abut it, but the dog mistress was persistent.

"So you can avoid it. Believe me, wavering in pain and guilt will bring you only trouble. I want to help you. That's what teammates are for, isn't it?"

"I guess it is." They haven't really solved anything, but both girls felt like they would eventually.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The team resumed their training routine. They went back to D-ranks, spars and elemental training. Naruto got it down first, Hana and Hotaru were still struggling. The boy then proceeded to perfect his original jutsu. Tenzo wasn't happy about it, but Naruto decided to use Shadow Clones in training to avoid hurting himself. It took a long time before he stopped popping them.

The mock missions stepped up in difficulty. They took an extra focus on the possible negative results of reckless behavior, as well as facing unknown opponents. Tenzo was frantically trying to prepare them for the next chuunin exams, scheduled to take place in Suna.

They completed another C-rank mission, a simple escort of a caravan to the capital and back again. Nothing out of ordinary happened there. Naruto was bored, the girls were thankful.

Then came the time for another interesting mission assignment.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Mission room~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"This will probably be harder than what you have done so far," the Hokage started. Tenzo stiffened. In his experience it never bode well. "There have been reports of children gone missing near the northern border. It has been going on for quite some time. The local authorities had no luck investigating. They eventually asked for our assistance."

"If I may inquire," the sensei dared, "why us? Shouldn't a more experienced team be deployed?"

"It would usually be the case, but you have an important asset," Sarutobi explained. "You have the youngest shinobi currently in Konoha." Figures.

Naruto paled a little. 'I'm bait,' he realized. It made him uncomfortable, but also gave him a sense of responsibility. He hadn't really done anything on the last mission, not that anything happened there, and the first one – let's not even go there. He still felt embarrassed every time he remembered it. But this was going to be his show. Despite his initial fear, he was looking forward to this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~On the road~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They left the Leaf village at dawn. For some reason or other that was traditionally considered to be the best time to start a mission. They covered the ground quickly. They expected to arrive at their destination sometime the day after tomorrow.

"How are we going to go about this?" Naruto asked. "We might just try to follow the tracks, but we might have trouble finding them. It's been days since the last kid disappeared and we don't know, when and where will it happen again. Are we going to set up bait?"

"I wouldn't rush it," Tenzo decided. "We start with investigating the crime scenes. We might get lucky and find a clue. Using bait is only a last resort."

"Okay," Naruto nodded half relieved, half dejected.

"But in case we have to try it anyway, how long do you think you can hold your transformation?" The jounin wanted to know.

"I've never thought about it," the boy scratched his head. "Long, I guess several days, then I'll have to reapply."

"Good enough," Tenzo nodded.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Near the border~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the small town of Ugo. It was a rather unimportant stop on the trading route between Fire Country and Rice Field Country. Few merchants came through here, most of them preferring the main road to the Lightning Country further southeast. Only after harvest carts loaded with rice traveled on the dirt road. The rest of the year it had barely any visitors.

The squad entered the settlement early in the afternoon. The sun shined brightly on the hot summer day, forcing most citizens to spend the time inside, protected from the oppressive heat. Only a couple of people noticed their arrival, but their curious glances promised that whole Ugo would learn about it shortly. Tenzo didn't like announcing their presence like that, but he had to speak with the local official and he doubted the man could keep a secret.

They knocked on his door and waited for his response. Then they knocked again. When nothing happened, they just opened the door and found the man taking his afternoon nap on a sofa. Tenzo sighed and shook him awake. It took some effort, but eventually the officer opened bleary eyes. When he saw strangers in his office, he startled.

They showed him their mission scroll and explained why they were there. Then they asked for his assistance.

First they went through the missing person reports. They haven't learned much more than they already knew. It turned out that most of the victims were orphaned street children who nobody missed. They disappearances had been barely noticed. Then the son of a prominent craftsman disappeared. The consensus was that he had ran away. The boy held dreams of becoming a ninja and often spoke about going to Konoha. Their missions scroll stated he never arrived, but a lot of things could have happened to him on the road. It wouldn't be suspicious in itself, but several others followed over time. All of them had some delusion of grandeur and decided to follow it. Neither of them were seen or heard from again. As isolated incidents they could be easily written off, but their frequency was indeed worrisome.

"Where do we start?" Hotaru mused. "The trails are cold and the parents already told all they knew to the local authorities."

"We'll speak to them anyway," Tenzo decided. "It sounds like there's someone recruiting the kids. They might have noticed something."

"Recruiting them?" Naruto blinked.

"Why do you think so?" Hotaru questioned.

"Most of them either wanted more from life or had low living standards," the jounin explained. "If somebody promised them better life, they'd jump at the opportunity. Understood?" Three nods answered him. "Then let's go question the parents."

It turned out that the parents didn't know anything more. The team spent the rest of the afternoon listening to distraught mothers and fathers pleading for them to return their children, but they haven't gathered any new information. They settled in the only decent inn in Ugo to discuss their options. There weren't many of them. They could still try posing as civilians, but that might take ages.

"We have to talk to somebody who knew the missing children," Naruto stated.

"And just what had we been doing the whole afternoon, you genius?" Hana snapped.

"Talking to their parents," the blond replied.

"Then what else do you want?" The Inuzuka shot him a look usually reserved for slow children.

"Speak to their friends," the boy explained. "They might know something their parents don't. Also what about the street kids? Some of their peers might have an idea. If there really is someone recruiting, he must have spoken to more children then only the missing ones. Also is there an orphanage in the town? Our somebody couldn't miss that out."

"That makes sense," Hotaru admitted, "but it still might not be enough. How can we make sure they would talk to us?"

"There's an old trick to it," their sensei joined the conversation. "Make them feel like you understand."

"So how do we do it?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The following day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The orphanage reminded Naruto of old times, before he met Tenzo. He couldn't help but compare the two institutions. This one was smaller and more run down than the one in Konoha, but the children running around the garden and observing the visitors seemed the same. Even the elderly matron could be sister of the one he used to know.

The squad commander went to speak with the proprietor, leaving his three students standing outside the door. The foxy boy tried to get in with him, but the jounin-sensei stopped him.

"Stay here," he ordered, "and don't botch it like usual, if it's not too complicated order for you to follow." Then he closed the door, leaving the dejected genin standing in the hallway.

"Why do we have to stay here?" Naruto complained.

"Shut up, Tiny," Hana chided.

"It's boring," the youngest of the three genin continued. "Why can't we do real ninja work?"

"We are. We are following orders, so quit your whining, it's annoying," the Inuzuka chastised.

"You're mean," the little blond pouted. "Why are you always so mean to me?"

"Because you get on my nerves," she replied with a glare.

"Why does everyone say that?" The yellow-haired youth looked downtrodden and annoyed.

"Do I really have to answer this?" the dog mistress growled. "Just shut up and get lost, you twit." Her dogs bared their teeth.

"Always the same," the jinchuuriki grumbled, but got up and wandered around the courtyard. He kicked a couple of stones angrily. "I'm a ninja, just like them. Why can't they treat me like one? Do you hear?!"

Hana heard and threw a stone. Naruto barely dodged. "Bitch," he shouted before running around the corner. There he sat down, hugging his knees. He hid his face and started sobbing.

Soon a child approached him.

"Are you sad?" the newcomer asked.

"What gave it away?" the shinobi replied sarcastically. He wiped his eyes and looked at the speaker. It was a boy, probably a year or two younger than him. He had a round face framed by shoulder-length dark hair and big eyes.

"You were crying," the younger orphan stated.

"I wasn't." Naruto protested. The stranger raised an eyebrow. "Maybe a little," the blond admitted grudgingly.

"They are nasty to you, aren't they?" he stated. "I know what is it like."

Naruto said nothing, just watched him questioningly.

"What's your name? I'm Daito," the stranger introduced himself.

"I'm Naruto," the Konoha genin replied.

"Can we be friends, if just for a while?" the dark eyed child offered.

"I'd like that," the Uzumaki agreed.

"That's great," the other boy smiled. "It's been lonely here lately."

"Why?" the young ninja inquired.

"My best friend left," Daito explained.

"I'm sorry," Naruto apologized.

"Don't be," Daito replied. "He has it better now."

"How do you know?" The young demon vessel wondered.

"Somebody took him in," the dark-haired orphan answered. "It was a really good one. He said Taira had real potential."

"He got lucky then," Naruto said sadly looking to the ground.

"And you are not?" The local boy raised an eyebrow. "You are a ninja after all."

"Yeah, I am." The blond sounded defeated.

"Aren't you lucky to be getting stronger?" Daito scrunched his brow in confusion.

"I would be," the Konoha shinobi grimaced.

"What do you mean?" the Ugo native looked at him questioningly.

"Well, you saw my team," Naruto replied.

"Yes," he nodded understandingly. "But surely they aren't always that bad?"

"Sometimes they're worse," the youth replied with a sigh. "Sensei thinks I'm just some snotty idiot who passed the genin test by accident."

"But at least you have someone," Daito said sympathetically.

"I wish I had." Naruto never looked so dejected and lonesome before.

At the moment Tenzo left the matron's office.

"Team, we're going," he ordered. "Where did Naruto wander off again? Once he'll get lost and I'll be in trouble for it."

"You heard him," the genin in question said. "I'd better be going."

"Can you come back?" The local inquired hopefully.

"I'll try," the blond promised before joining his team.

"Here you are. Just try not to get lost again," Tenzo chastised. The squad headed out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The inn~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I've gathered that a lot of kids had been adopted lately," Tenzo informed his underlings. "What about you?"

"I might have a clue," Naruto smiled. "The plan seems to be working."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~The next day~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto found time to visit Daito again. The team split up to look after clues individually. While the others were searching the town, the blond headed straight to the orphanage. It didn't take him long to locate the dark-haired boy. They relaxed together, playing silly children games, chitchatting about this and that. Eventually Daito asked what Naruto's squad was doing there.

"That's a secret," the blond replied trying to put on an air of importance.

"Really?" the other boy inquired.

"Really," the genin confirmed, but he looked like he actually yearned to tell.

"Come on," the younger child prodded. "I won't tell anyone."

"I don't know." Naruto looked hesitant.

"I can keep a secret, I promise." Eagerness shone in Daito's dark eyes.

"I still don't know." The blond was now refusing just for show.

"Don't be so uptight," the local orphan didn't relent. "We are friends, aren't we?"

"I guess so," the young shinobi admitted. "Okay, I'll tell you. But you must never ever tell anyone. It's a great secret, understand?"

"I understand," the wide-eyed child nodded. "I won't tell a word, I swear."

"Well, then listen." Naruto leaned closer conspiratorially. "We came here to investigate a big case."

"A big case?" Daito looked at him with admiration.

"Yes," the blond nodded dramatically, relishing in his importance. "Lots and lots of disappearances. People are getting panicked here."

"Really? I haven't noticed anything," Daito replied skeptically.

"That's because you're out of the loop," Naruto explained.

"No, I don't mean that," the younger lad clarified. "I haven't noticed anyone panicking."

"Really?" Naruto asked bewildered. "But we heard it differently."

"Then you must have heard it wrong," Daito said with absolute assurance. "And nobody disappeared as well."

"What?" the blue-eyed boy asked with an expression of total non-comprehension.

"They haven't disappeared," the local child explained. "They left for a better life, but adults wouldn't understand."

"You know something about it," the Konoha genin inquired eagerly. "If I can tell it to sensei, than he'll have to admit I'm good."

"Would he really?" the younger boy doubted.

"Well… of course," Naruto said with a false smile.

"You don't really believe that," Daito stated.

"Well, you're right," the blond deflated. "He'll always have me for an incompetent fool, no matter what I do."

"You wish for a better one," the dark-haired youth said sympathetically.

"Yes," the young ninja admitted.

"Maybe I could help," Daito offered.

"You?" Naruto looked doubtful. "Don't get offended, but what can you possibly do?"

"Do you remember my friend Taira? I told you about him yesterday." Naruto nodded. "He wants to be a ninja too. He found somebody who was looking for talents. I'm sure he would help you too."

"Really? But, I don't know," the Leaf ninja was unconvinced. "I can't just go and leave. That's treason."

"Like you owe them anything," Daito scoffed. "Don't they constantly put you down?"

"Well, yes, but they're still my comrades," Naruto explained. "I cannot just abandon them."

"Don't they think they can do better without you anyway?" Daito pointed out.

"They do, but still…"

"You know what," Daito said. "There is a man living not too far from here. He's the contact I have with Taira. Let's go visit him and then you can decide."

"Okay."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Outskirts of Ugo~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Daito had led him to an unassuming little house near the edge of the woods. It was situated in the middle of a wildly growing garden, half-hidden from view by fruit trees.

"Here it is," the local child announced. He opened the garden door and entered, Naruto followed him. The dark haired boy knocked on the door.

"Enter," a voice sounded from inside. They came in. The hall was just as unremarkable as the exterior. A plain middle-aged man came to greet them.

"Hello, Daito," he welcomed them. "Who is your friend?"

"This is Naruto," the younger boy introduced him proudly. "He wants to ask about your offer."

"What?" the man freaked out. "You brought one of them here? Are you insane?"

"But Naruto…" Daito started his explanation.

"Was having you on, you incompetent idiot," the owner of the house interrupted. "And you lead them straight to us."

The child looked terrified.

"Then we simply kill them all," a new voice stated. Naruto whirled around and froze. The young man who had just appeared moved like a skilled ninja. It didn't look good for him.

Another evil cliffhanger no jutsu. !

Next time: Who is the mysterious ninja? And how will Naruto handle him?