A.N.: So I'm finally back with another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I got distracted writing my other stories. And the latest chapters of the manga made me too disgusted. How much brainless can Kishimoto make Naruto without him being turned into a drone?

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

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I wouldn't be writing this fanfic if I did.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Burnt outpost~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiraiya sent a message to the Hokage via one of his Toad summons. Naruto stared at it wide-eyed, but without his usual enthusiasm. The knowledge that a new enemy was entering the war and that it might be his fault (again) for screwing up the mission sent his thoughts straight into depression. The Gama Sennin seemed to pick on his mood.

"Hey, kid, don't be so down," he laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "If they wanted to join the war, they would have done it no matter what you did." It made the boy feel slightly better. "And now that you're done feeling sorry for yourself, we're going after them."

"But you've said..." the boy began, but the old man interrupted him.

"That there are too many to fight? Don't be ridiculous. I'm the Toad Sage," he reminded him, "I can take on them. And besides, we aren't going to get caught."

It didn't take them long to determine that the attackers left the same way they arrived. They followed their trail through the darkness towards the Hot Springs Country.

"Why didn't they move forward?" Naruto wondered. "There wasn't anything else blocking them that way."

"They weren't supposed to move forward," Jiraiya replied. "They were ordered only to destroy the stronghold and retreat."

"But why?"

"To clear the path," the white-haired man explained. "Now there is nothing to block the main force once it comes."

"Even so, shouldn't it be better if they moved forward as scouts?" the blond boy questioned.

"They were wounded and tired from the battle," Jiraiya pointed out. "The army has more scouts." Naruto nodded, but he still looked troubled.

"But if they are clearing the path for an army, doesn't it mean they're going to come this way?" the chuunin asked.

"It does," the Sannin confirmed.

"Aren't you worried we'll run into them?"

"We'll be careful." Naruto still wasn't convinced, but he understood that his opinion amounted to nothing. They set on the road again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jiraiya had told Naruto to relax, but it wasn't as easy as it sounded. After the events of the previous day, the blond found it extremely hard to be anything else than anxious or tired. They had spent the night running through the trees, following the trail of the attack team. Then suddenly Jiraiya stopped and claimed they couldn't go any further. Naruto didn't see any reason for it, but he trusted the Sannin to know what he was doing. The Gama Sennin summoned several smaller toads and sent them forward as scouts. He didn't wait for their return and headed away in a perpendicular direction. When Naruto asked where they were going, he replied that there was nothing else they could do there and they were heading into a nearby town to rest. Naruto was glad to hear it. He really needed to rest.

They arrived into the town midmorning. Jiraiya booked them into an inn and told his young apprentice to catch some rest. He then left, claiming he was going to gather more information, but Naruto noticed the lecherous leer he was shooting towards the local onsen. He didn't point it out. He was too tired to argue. He lay onto to bed and closed his eyes, but sleep was avoiding him. The events of the night were still too fresh in his mind. He kept seeing the destroyed fortress and couldn't help but imagine that the Kumo army was going to appear any minute. Every footsteps coming near the room sounded like an enemy ninja approaching, even though he knew it wasn't so. If there really was an enemy shinobi, he wouldn't be able to hear them so easily, if at all.

Just as he almost managed to convince himself that there was nobody out to kill him tonight and he could really sleep, a loud explosion rocked the town. Naruto wasn't surprised that it came from the direction of the onsen.

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

Sarutobi was massaging his temples, only barely suppressing the urge to bang his head on the table. As if the war against Iwa and Ame wasn't enough, one of Jiraiya's toads arrived recently to inform him that Kumo decided to join the fray. Then a messenger bird arrived from Hot Springs Country saying that they were being attacked and it sounded like there were two attackers: Kumo and Rice Field Country. And then another bird came, this time from Kumo. It informed him that they realized that the body of the Hyuuga who had killed their diplomat was fake (and it took them only six years to find out, great job!) and that they were declaring war on them. Open declaration meant only one thing: the army was already on its way. He had to act quickly if he didn't want them to knock on Konoha's gate within a week. Fortunately the Leaf still had plenty of reserves. He quickly scribbled some orders and sent his ANBU to deliver them. He could only hope that it would be enough.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto was on his feet before the echoes of the explosion quieted down. He grabbed his pouch, he hadn't bothered to undress, strapped it on and ran towards the source of the disturbance. What if Jiraiya needed his help? He didn't realize how absurd that notion was.

Locating Jiraiya was easy; the column of smoke was tell-tale. He was immensely relieved to see the Toad Sage unharmed.

"What happened?" he asked, scanning the surroundings for any sign of danger.

"Some young moron," the white-haired man replied. "He thought throwing around Exploding Tags was a good idea. Well, he won't be throwing them anymore."

"What are we going to do?"

"Leave," the Toad Sage replied. "I see you've already packed. Good, because I don't know when are we going to stop."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Konoha~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Will this never end?" Hotaru wondered aloud as they stood close to Konoha's gates, waiting for the signal to head out. They were one of the teams sent to deal with the new threat from Kumo. She couldn't help but think about their latest mission and whether there was something they could have done to prevent it. She knew that there probably wasn't, but she still couldn't stop wondering.

"I hope not," Hana replied. "It's been going on long enough."

"It barely began," Tenzo corrected her. "It's going to be a long time before it ends."

"Yes," the Inuzuka replied, "but I can always dream." It was nice to have their sensei back; with him they didn't have the responsibility for every decision and didn't have to worry so much about messing up. But their team wasn't complete. Naruto was off somewhere and they had no idea when (or if) they were going to see him again. Hotaru wondered whether he knew about the Kumo's invasion and whether they might perhaps meet him there.

"So you are going too?" a scathing voice interrupted the team's reunion. Hana slowly turned around. Sure enough, standing there was Tokiko, her face twisted in an ugly sneer, as was her customary expression whenever speaking to the Inuzuka heiress.

"Yes," the dog mistress replied evenly, "and nice to see you too."

"Good. Maybe you're going to die there like you deserve for leaving Tokita to die," the sister of her former teammate said.

"There you are!" a boy in green came running towards her. "Oboro-sensei wasn't happy with you running off on us. We're about to hit the road."

"It's not like I got lost, Noriaki," Tokiko snapped. "I was just talking to an old acquaintance."

"I see," Noriaki sighed. "Can't you forget your grudge for the time being? We're all on the same side here, in case you forgot."

"I didn't," the kunoichi answered. "But I'm not sure about her, she has a habit of abandoning her teammates. Look, she's missing one again."

"She does not," Hotaru interjected. "And shouldn't you return to your team? We're about to leave."

"Hmph," Tokiko scoffed. "This isn't over." But she allowed her teammate to lead her away.

"Why does she have to be here?" Hana muttered. Tokiko's comments cut her deep. She though she was over the loss of her first team, but the black-haired girl had successfully managed to reopen the wounds.

"Don't take it so hard," Hotaru consoled her. "She's just being a jerk."

"I can't," the brunette shook her head. "I can't help but feel that I did abandon them."

"Just don't get too depressed about it. What would we do if you got yourself killed?" the purple-haired girl asked.

"I don't plan on getting killed," the dog mistress scowled.

"Good," Hotaru smiled.

Then the signal sounded and the army moved out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Naruto had trouble keeping up with Jiraiya's pace. Who would have thought that the old hermit could be so spry? He got just as little rest as Naruto and he didn't show any sign of slowing down anytime soon. The young chuunin did his best not to slow him down, but the exhaustion did its work. He misjudged one jump and tripped over a branch he was trying to land on. He managed to catch the next one, so he didn't plummet to the ground, but he couldn't find the strength to get up and run on. He only held onto the branch and panted heavily.

"Hey, kid, what's the problem?" Jiraiya asked.

"Too tired," the boy replied between pants. "How can you be so fresh?"

"One of the perks of being a legendary ninja," the Gama Sennin replied. "If you train diligently, you might be able to do it too."

"Can't we rest for a while?" the blond asked.

"No," the Sannin shook his head, "we're too close to the enemy."

"What?!" Blue eyes widened in shock.

"Relax," the man smiled reassuringly, "it's only a small group."

"Doesn't matter," the jinchuuriki replied. "One would be too much for me now."

"Then rest quickly," Jiraiya suggested, "because we are going to fight them."

"What?!" Naruto couldn't believe his ears. "I feel like I'll fall asleep during the battle."

"I can do the fighting alone," the Toad Sage shrugged, "but there's something I need your help with."

"What is it?" the chuunin inquired.

"You are good with Shadow Clones, are you not?" Jiraiya asked.

"Yes," Naruto confirmed.

"I need you to make as many as you can," the Toad Sage replied. "We're going to convince the Kumo forces there's an army here."

"Pranking the enemy?" the boy grinned. "I like that."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Kumo camp~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kamui yawned. Guard duty was boring, but it wasn't like he could afford to slack off. Especially since his unit was small and if they got taken by surprise, they could be easily wiped out. But so far nothing broke the numbing monotony.

When they had begun the campaign, he had expected more action, but so far everything had been going smoothly. Not that he complained. He was all for earning his money without having to exert or even endanger himself. He knew they were going to see more fighting than they cared for once they'd cross the Fire Country border, but so far things were going without a hitch. They and their allies had cut into the Hot Springs Country like knife into butter, without encountering anything that would count as resistance. The forces of Hot Springs Country were caught unawares and barely anybody tried to put up a fight. Not that there was anyone to put up the fight after the Hidden Hot Springs Village had been turned from a shinobi stronghold to a spa resort. Things were going good. And in Kamui's experience, it was too good to last. That is, why the sound of a snapping branch in the middle of the night was immediately interpreted as enemy. He jumped to his feet and it saved his life. A kunai grazed his pants in an area where his neck used to be less than a second before.

"Alarm!" he shouted. His companions immediately opened their eyes, completely awake within a moment, as was prudent for all seasoned shinobi. Many of them didn't even have the time to grab their weapons. A virtual hail of kunai rained at them from the surrounding jungle. Grunts of pain let him know who was hit.

Kamui himself evaded the barrage. It looked like most of it was aimed at the sleepers anyway. But before he could rejoice over his good luck, he noticed movement in the surrounding greenery. The enemy was here! He unsheathed his sword and prepared to fight. But then he noticed how many there were. They were outnumbered at least ten to one! There was no chance they could win this battle. There was only one thing he could do: He had to warn the main forces that there was a strong enemy force at their rear, perhaps even an army. He had no idea how did they outflank them, but he had to get out before they could outflank their core forces as well.

He looked around. The attackers were jumping down from the trees, weapons drawn, and they were overrunning his comrades by sheer numbers. One tried to stab his unprotected back, but Kamui's well-honed reflexes saved him. He avoided the blade narrowly and sent the enemy flying with a kick. He didn't watch him land, instead jumping into the trees.

"He's running!" somebody shouted. A shuriken whistled past his ear. He could hear somebody giving pursuit. He pumped more chakra into his legs. The pursuer did the same, shortening the distance between them. And now they got further away form the racket of battle, he could hear there was somebody else trying to outflank him. He threw a handful of shuriken in his direction and a yelp of pain let him know he hit true. He allowed himself a small smile. Only one enemy remained. He ran for a little longer before stopping. He was going to get rid of his tail here and now. They were now far enough from the others so there was little risk of being interrupted. As long as the other guy wasn't a jounin, he should be fine.

The pursuer reached him in no time. Kamui attacked him before he even landed. The pursuer, a middle-aged man in standard Konoha uniform, blocked with little trouble. Kamui followed with a kick to his stomach. The man took a step back. Kamui swung his sword again. The Konoha shinobi tried to block it with a kunai, not realizing it was a feint. Kamui's sword changed direction at the last moment and pierced his chest. The man fell to the ground with a gurgle. Kamui turned around and ran. He had to reach the main force as soon as possible. He had to inform them of the new threat.

If he stayed a little longer, he might have noticed his pursuer's corpse turning into mud.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Back in the camp~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Wow, you really are amazing," Naruto said with awe.

"Did you ever doubt it?" Jiraiya smirked.

"Seeing it is completely different," the young chuunin replied.

"You weren't bad yourself," the white-haired man commented. "I wouldn't have been able to pull it off alone. Your clones were of great help."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed. "I wonder how nobody noticed them popping. They don't have enough energy to do any fighting. Can I dispel them finally?"

"No," the Toad Sage shook his head, "We still have to make it look like an army marched through here, so they are staying."

"Crap," the chuunin complained, "I'm really beat. Well, I'll keep them for a while longer, but you'll have to carry me when I faint."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Hot Springs Country~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Now!" The command sounded through the forest. The army of Konoha ninja lying in wait sprung into motion, descending upon the surprised Kumo army like the wrath of Heaven. They were very lucky to be able to pull of the ambush like they did. Hana was proud that it was partly thanks to her; the Haimaru siblings had detected a Cloud scout and she and Hotaru he managed to dispose of him before he could have sent a message. And then there was also the fact that the Kumo army had inexplicably changed directions, which had allowed them to sneak up to their rear much easier.

The moment of surprise was on their side. She saw Kumo ninja falling dead before they realized what had happened. But there weren't many of them. Most had reflexes good enough to dodge at the last moment. They grabbed for their weapons to defend themselves. Then the battle really started.

Hana, her dogs, Hotaru and Tenzo fought as a team, being an effective unit taking down enemy ninja. But it lasted only for so long. They eventually ran into a jounin, who shot a Lightning jutsu between them and augmented it with a couple of Exploding Tags. The resulting blast threw the dog mistress through nearby bushes and had her crashing to the ground painfully.

She lay on the ground, fighting to catch her breath. She knew it was dangerous to just lie on a battlefield, but maybe she'd be mistaken for a corpse and left alone. But it seemed she didn't have her lucky day today. She more felt than heard somebody approaching her and the Killing Intent he was exerting revealed him as an enemy.

She rolled on her back and gripped her kunai. She was still too shaken from the blast to be able to fight properly, but she wasn't going down without a fight. She pushed herself into a sitting position, but that was as far as she got. The man was almost upon her. Out of nowhere, one of her dogs appeared, but the man sent him flying with a kick. Hana growled like a beast, but her threatening gesture had no effect on her opponent. He approached her swiftly and stabbed at her with his tanto. She managed to block, but just barely. The strength behind the attack pushed her back down. She kicked at his stomach, but he avoided her foot nimbly. He pulled his arm back for another strike and she knew that this time she wouldn't be able to block. But then the man suddenly gurgled, red blood spouting from his neck, and fell to the ground beside her.

"You really can't take care even of yourself," a scathing voice sounded next to her.

"Tokiko?" the brunette asked in surprise.

"Who else?" the other girl retorted. "I would have never thought that I'd have to save you one day."

"I'd have never thought I'd be saved by you," Hana replied. "Watch out!" Tokiko whirled around, but it was too slow. The Kumo kunoichi that had suddenly appeared behind her was already swinging her kunai at her. The genin had no chance to block. But then a kunai thrown by Hana nicked her cheek and she hesitated in her strike. In the next moment a big grey dog jumped at her and tore her throat.

"We're even," the Inuzuka heiress said.

"We can never be even. And that was your dog that saved me," Tokiko pointed out. "Looks like he's a better ninja than you."

"Whatever," Hana shrugged. She was in no mood to argue with the girl. And the middle of a battlefield was a bad place for discussions, period. She scrambled to her feet. Her body still hurt, but at least she was able to move now. "Let's go kick some Kumo ass."

"That's the smartest thing you ever said," Tokiko remarked. "Just don't make me save you again."

"I won't."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Elsewhere on the battlefield~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tenzo clasped his hands in a seal. The branches of a nearby tree moved, capturing three nearby Kumo ninja. Before they could overcome their surprise and pry themselves out, Hotaru appeared and finished them off with her kodachi. The two of them made an effective team, but it wasn't enough. The Kumo army outnumbered them, even though not by much, and once the advantage of surprise had worn off, it began to show. So far, the Konoha forces held their own, but it was getting increasingly harder. Every single casualty on their side made the numerical advantage more prominent. And he was also worried about Hana. Ever since the explosion had separated them, he hadn't seen hair nor hide of the girl. And the one of her dogs who had landed next to them had run of somewhere as soon as his fur stopped smoking.

Some instinct made him duck and a couple of shuriken sailed right through the space that used to be occupied by his head less than a second before. He immediately returned fire and a hiss of pain let him know that he hit, but failed to seriously wound the enemy. He sighed. One more problem to take care of and he was getting tired. He whipped out his ninjato and turned to face the man.

Even though he defeated him easily, it did nothing to raise his spirits. From what he gathered form the shouts flying over the battlefield, the tides of battle began to turn against them. It looked like a commander in the Kumo army managed to organize his underlings and attack Konoha's lines. So far they hadn't gotten far, but they were progressing steadily. If they weren't stopped soon, they would eventually force them to retreat.

"We have to get that guy!" somebody shouted. Tenzo shot a glance at the speaker. He recognized the scarred face of his old colleague from ANBU, Namiashi Raidou.

"That's easier said than done," he replied. "The guards around him are doing their jobs."

"They're good against long-range attacks," Raidou observed, "but what if somebody sneaked up on him?"

"I don't see it happening," Tenzo answered. "They're too alert to let anything slip past them."

"What if somebody lay in wait in their path?" a new voice suggested. They turned around and saw a young dark-haired woman with red eyes.

"And how do you propose to do that?" Raidou asked.

"I'm a genjutsu mistress," she explained. "I can conceal myself quite well."

"And they are bound to have somebody good at detecting genjutsu," the scarred man pointed out.

"But it's a good idea," Tenzo said, "only I will do the hiding."

"Are you good with genjutsu?" Kurenai questioned.

"No," he shook his head, "but I have a special ability just for this kind of thing. I'll do the hiding and the two of you will provide a distraction."

The plan was quickly agreed upon. Tenzo moved stealthily into the path of the Kumo group. There he found a big tree on a small hill, a good place to overlook the battlefield, and melted into its trunk. This was one of the times when being a survivor of Orochimaru's experiments was a good thing. Than he had to only wait.

It was agonizing to sit still and do nothing while his comrades fought and fell. He couldn't help but try to look for Hotaru and Hana. He spotted the purple-haired girl for a moment, wrestling with a Kumo chuunin for a sword, but he lost the sight of her quickly. Hana he still couldn't see. He could only hope she was alright somewhere out there. At least he could see Raidou and Kurenai holding their positions. But he was a jounin, a former ANBU, and he was well-trained for handling such situations. And as a bonus, he could rest and recover some of his energy; the battle had drained him of quite a lot.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to him, but was only a quarter an hour in reality, the Kumo commander with his entourage moved closer to his tree. They expected a trap set up there, the place was just too convenient, and sent scouts ahead, but they found nothing suspicious. Well, a man fusing with the wood isn't something you encounter everyday.

The Kumo commander stood on the hill, but not directly under the tree. 'Clever,' Tenzo thought. 'If there was a hidden Exploding Tag in the tree, he would be only singed by the blast.' It made his job harder, but not impossible. He concentrated his chakra and let it flow to the roots. He quickly found those that were closest to his target. There were none big enough directly under him, but his Mokuton power remedied it quickly. Then it was time to strike.

The Kumo commander didn't notice anything amiss until two thick roots wound themselves around his legs. His first reaction was to jump away, but the roots held fast. And they were tightening. He felt small roots piercing the battle wraps on his calves. His second idea was Kawarimi, but it was very hard to perform while restrained. And even harder when said restraints were already drawing blood. Fortunately for him, by that time one of his bodyguards finally noticed what was happening and tried to cut off the roots with his sword. But the chakra-enforced wood was very hard and the blade got stuck in it. Immediately more roots sprouted up and captured the sword.

Two more Cloud shinobi jumped to help, but they were distracted by a huge fireball flying towards them, courtesy of Raidou. The flames were stopped by somebody erecting a Mud Wall, but the moment of distraction gave Tenzo the time needed to extend the roots even further. They now reached up to the commander's waist.

Then somebody on Kumo's side got the idea to hit the roots with Lightning. They probably realized that Wood was made up from Water and Earth and Earth chakra was susceptible to Lightning. The discharge hit the roots near the ground. It wasn't enough to destroy them, but it disrupted the flow of chakra inside it, negating Tenzo's control over it. The roots turned from deadly weapons to dead wood.

Tenzo cursed. Now he couldn't use the roots to attack anymore and there were too many alert enemies around to come out of the tree and attack personally. But he couldn't give up. Too much depended on his success. He commanded one of the undamaged roots still underground to form a spike and shoot at the commander's unprotected back. The commander was still captured within the now dead roots and couldn't evade. The spike slammed into his flak jacket. That was as far as it got, because one of the bodyguards fired a Raiton jutsu into it. The spike's progress was stopped, but it wasn't a complete failure. The overzealous bodyguard managed to shock his superior as well.

Seeing that his Mokuton techniques weren't working, Tenzo left the tree and appeared under it. The Kumo ninja looking for any more roots didn't notice him immediately, which gave him the time necessary to perform several handseals. An Earth Dragon formed in front of him and charged at the Kumo commander. It looked like he was going to succeed, but then three Kumo ninja hit it with Lightning attacks simultaneously. And Tenzo's supply of chakra ran out.

The dragon crumbled to dust and Tenzo collapsed to his knees. Four of the Cloud shinobi ran at him and the fifth spat a stream of fire, but before they could reach him, Raidou appeared at his side and fired a Goukakyuu at them. Kurenai followed at his heels and put one of the Kumo ninja under an illusion that made him see enemies in place of his allies. Then they grabbed the exhausted man and quickly retreated, before the Cloud shinobi could straighten the mess they had temporarily thrown them into.

"That didn't go too well," Raidou remarked.

"Sorry," Tenzo said, "I couldn't do it."

"Don't beat yourself over it, the odds were against you," the scarred man advised him.

"Now the odds are against all of us," the Mokuton wielder grumbled.

"We did miss our best shot there," Kurenai added. "It would be even harder to get the commander now."

As soon as she finished speaking, the commander and his entourage were crushed under a giant frog.

The end for now.

Next time: The conclusion of the battle and search for Tsunade.