Here's the newest Chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Team 10 stopped for the night near the border the two lands of Fire and Waterfall met. The landscape still remained the same: Lush with trees and rivers with just enough sunlight poking through the trees to give several wildflowers room to grow. The sun itself was now halfway set. It's fading orange bathed the campsite in a beautiful glow.

"Is this a good spot, sensei? Cause I would really hate to leave." asked Ino.

Shikaku, unpacking his pack, shook his head. "We are on good terms with the Waterfall ninja so we don't have to worry about any attacks by them. We just need to watch out for bandits."

Naruto looked up fire he just made. "Are we going to sleep in shifts tonight?"

"Better than safe than sorry," Shikaku muttered. "But just to make sure, Naruto, could you make a couple of clones and scout the surrounding area?"

Naruto nodded and walked away to give himself some room. Shino began setting up some cooking utensils while Ino unpacked the food.

"So who gets to cook tonight?" asked Ino.

"Let me," answered Naruto as he rejoined his team. The others could see five clones split up and take off into the forest. "The chef is in the house."

"It's not ramen, is it?" Shikaku said behind them.

Naruto's head dropped. "No, sensei. Not on a mission like this one."

Shikaku brushed his pants as he sat up. "Sorry, Naruto. But ramen doesn't suit my stomach when I'm worrying about a mission."

"Is something wrong, Sensei?" asked Ino. "Are you regretting sending us on this mission?"

"No, but I'm worried about the disease that struck the Waterfall this past week. It seems strange that many shinobi would be ill before the biggest festival of the year for the village."

"Meaning the virus was targeting the chakra in their bodies," said Shino. "That's why so few civilians were sick."

"Correct," said Shikaku. "Chakra-eating viruses are rare, but the ones that exist are usually developed as a bio-weapon or resulting from a bloodline."

Naruto frowned. "Are you thinking someone sabotaged the Waterfall's force for a invasion?"

"It's a possibility."

"But how if the entrance to the village is a secret only to the Waterfall ninja?" asked Ino.

Shino answered for her. "The invasion force could have help from the inside."

"A traitor," Naruto growled.

"Let's not jump to conclusions," said Shikaku. "This could all just be a coincidence. Nevertheless, don't let your guard down. Remember, expect the unexpected."

The genin nodded. Everyone then watched the fire and Naruto as he stirred the soup Ino brought.

"Area's clear," Naruto announced later after dinner. The genin were washing their dishes in a nearby creek while Shikaku watched the surrounding dark forest.

Ino looked around, confused. "But your clones haven't come back. How do you know that?"

Naruto smiled at her. "When my clones are dispelled, all of the memories they gain when they are created are sent to me. It's one of the tricks Shikaku taught me in our one-on-one sessions."

"That's one of the reasons we were selected for this mission," Shikaku said behind them. "With Naruto's ability to summon a large number of shadow clones, we can guard the surrounding village with a small army."

Ino snapped her fingers. "So in case of an invasion, a shadow clone can dispel itself and Naruto would immediately know no matter how far away he is."

"How many shadow clones can you make?" asked Shino.

"I can make at least 100 without feeling any chakra exhaustion. 300 and I'll have a slight draining sensation. In case of an emergency, I can boost it up to 1000, but then I would begin to feel exhausted," explained Naruto.

"How strong are your clones?" added Ino.

"Most clones dispel whenever the slightest injury is inflicted on them," explained Shikaku. "Shadow clones are the strongest of clone jutsus, but it all depends on how strong the caster is. Each clone has the 3/4 of original's strength and only 1/8 of his endurance."

Naruto sighed. "They can put up a fight, but one good, solid kick will get rid off them."

"It will be enough," assured Shikaku. "The main point for the shadow clones to hold off the enemy until the main calvary arrive."

"Just how much chakra do you have?" asked an awed Ino.

Naruto stiffened at her question. He picked up his utensils and walked back to camp. "I have enough."

Team 10 watched him disappear into the darkness. Ino frowned at his departure while Shino remained the same.

"Did I say something wrong?" Ino asked.

Shikaku shook his head. "No, Ino. But the two of you should know Naruto has endured a lot to become the ninja he is today. He's not from a prestigious clan like you two are. He's had to do everything on his own. That includes working nonstop from his first day at the ninja academy."

"Is that why he has so much chakra?" asked Ino.

It's one reason, thought Shikaku.

It was about three hours after the sun had set before the team took their shifts. Shikaku was reading a scroll with the mission details while three more about the village's history laid beside him. It wasn't his first time he had traveled to the Waterfall village. But the last time was nearly ten years ago and was with the original Team 10. Three chunin blindfolded Chouza, Inoichi, and himself and led them into the village. He enjoyed his time there. The Waterfall and the Leaf were always one good terms, ever since the formation of their villages.

Ever since the Shodaime, the First Hokage, gave them a gift. A gift Shikaku finally met ten years ago.

Shikaku looked up from his reading to see what his students were doing. What he saw made him smile. Each student was holding out their hands, one covering the other. All three of had a look of extreme concentration on their faces, which were perspired and glowing in the fire light.

He was proud that his students were continuing their elemental training he showed them in their second week as a team.

"Elemental manipulation training is one of the most intense training sessions you can go through as a shinobi. The difficulty of mastering this style is one normally taken when you reach a higher level, like jonin."

Team 10 was back on training field five on their spot next to the creek. Each one of the genin was eager to begin to learn their elemental style of jutsus ever since they learned their element.

"But like I said before, I want you guys trained in every field that makes a shinobi. Any angle, any trick there is to learn, I want us fully prepared to take on any obstacles that may present itself."

"So who will be our instructors this week?" asked Shino.

On cue, a shinobi appeared before them in a sweep of wind. He was a tall man dressed in the basic jonin-style attire. His dark hair was spiked around his headband and had sideburns that ran into a short beard. As soon as he appeared, the genin started coughing as he puffed out a cloud of smoke from his cigarette.

"Sorry about that kids," said the man, although he looked kind of smug.

"Asuma, glad you could make it," said Shikaku. He then turned to Naruto. "Asuma is going to be your teacher. He's the only wind-type user in the village."

"Why is that," Naruto wheezed while waved the smoke from his face.

"Believe it or not, wind-type users are a rare breed in the world," answered Asuma. "But they can surprise you about how powerful they are."

"What about our teachers?" asked Ino.

On cue, another jonin popped in a cloud of smoke. He as well was wearing the jonin style outfit, but had what looked like a turtle neck pulled up all the way to his nose. His hiaiti was tied over his forehead, but was lowered on one side to cover his left eye. His silver hair was spiked and slightly combed to the right.

"Sorry I'm late everyone," the man said sheepishly. "I was helping a girl get her cat down a tree and lost track of time."

"Actually Kakashi, you're right on time," smirked Shikaku.

Kakashi looked around, confused. "I thought you said the meeting was at nine?"

"What exactly do you take me for, Kakashi? I knew you were to be late so I told you to meet us at an earlier time. This way we didn't have to wait for your sorry ass to show up."

Kakashi looked insulted while Asuma snickered behind him. Team 10 didn't know what the hell to think. Maybe becoming jonin wasn't a good idea if it meant becoming one of them.

"Um….can we get started," asked Naruto.

"Sure," said Shikaku. Asuma sat down beside the kids while Kakashi pulled out a book and began reading.

"As you know, chakra is made up of the spiritual and physical energy within our bodies. By combining the two energies and using the appropriate hand signs, shinobi can create extremely powerful attack called a jutsu. These attacks can range from being elemental, transformations, increasing physical attributes and even special arts, like mind scans, kikaichu, and ramen," explained Shikaku as he smiled at his students.

"But no matter the purpose its used for, chakra will have at least one relation to the five elements: fire, water, earth, lightning and wind. Your chakra, when properly used, will have characteristics used similar to this energy and can be used to produce your element.

"And that's what me and Kakashi are here for," said Asuma as he stood up. He turned to Naruto. "I'm going to be your teacher today, Naruto. I happen to be the only allied wind-user from here to the land of wind. And you won't find a teacher better than me!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but stood up and walked into the clearing. "All right Asuma-sensei, where do we begin?"

Asuma stood across from Naruto, taking a few puffs with his cigarette. "Because it's rarity, wind jutsus are actually the most dangerous element to learn. Many think that all you need to do his huff and puff and blow. So it's really important that you understand this: Wind styles are primarily used for cutting. With the proper training, a wind jutsu can cut through trees, rock, and even steel. Improperly, even the slightest mistake, will cause the wind to backdraft onto yourself."

"How can wind be dangerous?" asked a skeptic Naruto.

Asuma's cheery demeanor turned serious. "Don't underestimate the power of wind. If you think all you will get from bad wind jutsu is a simple breeze, think again. One of my opponents thought he could be clever and copy my jutsu just by watching me. Next thing you know, he's screaming his brains out because the backdraft sliced his arms right off." The jonin rolled up his sleeves. On each arm were several deep, crisscrossing scars.

Naruto paled and visibly gulped. He was now beginning to have his doubts about wind.

Asuma saw this and gave the boy a small smile. "That happened because he wasn't a wind user, Naruto. I got these scars because I was careless and naive. I wanted to be stronger quicker. These are the prices for my mistakes."

Naruto swallowed. "So how do I not do that?"

"By taking each step slowly," explained Asuma. "Now here is the key to using wind chakra. When you are preparing your jutsu and gathering you're chakra, you need make your chakra as thin as you can."

"You mean using less chakra," asked Naruto.

"No, I mean you need to make it sharp. Try to imagine your chakra has split into two spinning, opposing forces. Then, try to push those opposing forces together so that the chakra is grinding together. Almost like a pair of scissors."

Asuma then turned and walked towards a tree that was near the one everyone else was sitting under. He reached behind into his rear pouch and pulled out two, dark trench knives onto his knuckles.

"Wind Style: Criss-Cross Jutsu!" He slashed the tree with absolute precision and power. Naruto barely saw the speed of the strikes. He did se that the knives seemed to be glowing with a white energy that extended the blades another six inches. In seconds, the small oak was reduced to splinters. Then, the tree slowly toppled over with a loud crash.

Asuma didn't stop there. He sheathed his knives and pointed his body towards another group of trees across the creek. His hands formed another series of rapid signs. He also took a deep breath.

"Wind Style: Air Bullet!" He released his breath with the force of a hurricane wind. The kids could see the faint outline of a ball of energy heading towards the nearest tree. The jutsu passed cleanly through the first tree, where it exploded with extreme force. The tree flew through the air and crashed to the ground. During that time, several trees around the first one were uprooted from the force. The leaves were also blown off from all of the branches.

Asuma turned back to Naruto with a smirk while leaves fluttered around them. "See? Wind is always underestimated."

Naruto grinned in response. Any fears or doubts about the power of wind were know blown away.

"So what's the first step into using wind," he asked.

Asuma snatched a falling leaf and handed to Naruto. "I would like for you cut a leaf using only your chakra. Remember, use your chakra to grind wind into a thin blade."

Naruto smiled and bowed. "Thank you, Asuma-sensei."

"Your welcome, Naruto," smiled Asuma. "Just remember to pass on the knowledge to the next generation."

Asuma then turned Shikaku. "If that is all?"

Shikaku nodded. "You may go. Thanks for all of your help."

Asuma shushined away. Shikaku and the kids turned to Kakashi, who was still reading his book. Ino finally caught a glimpse to the cover and scowled.

"You read that perverted trash? In front of kids, too?" she asked menacingly.

"Kakashi, you're up!" growled Shikaku.

"Mm? You say something Shi-?"

"NO! No, don't you dare say that?"

Kakashi sighed and closed his book. He turned to Ino and Shino. "I'm here to show you two fire and lightning jutsus. Let's start with fire," he gestured to Ino.

Ino stood and brushed the grass off her skirt. She followed Kakashi into the clearing.

Kakashi sighed and began his lecture. "Fire-style jutsus are some the easiest types to manage because it's one that doesn't require fire element chakra to use. It maybe easier, but anyone who has chakra can use fire-type jutsus as long as they know how to properly breath."

"Is that the key? Breathing?" asked Ino.

"And how to properly use your chakra. Like my colleague previously explained about wind, there is a key way to use your chakra. When you move your hands in the proper signs, you need to take a deep breath through your mouth. Breathing through your mouth will bring more oxygen into your lungs so it can ignite when you release it. You'll be able to control the fire more easily."

"Why do I need to breath in through my mouth?"

Kakashi sighed once more. "It's too troublesome to explain."

Ino's eyes when white with rage while Shikaku and Naruto scowled. Naruto noticed Shino stiffen beside him with annoyance.

"Now, to properly use your chakra, you simply need to imagine you chakra warming up to the point of igniting it. Feel your chakra getting hot, like a simple campfire."

"That's it?" asked Ino. "No warnings about how dangerous it is or how careful I have to be when using this chakra?"

Kakashi rolled his eyes. "Fine. Be sure to blow the air as hard as you can when use the jutsu or you;re lungs will burn up. Also, jutsu will blow right back into your face if you don't blow hard enough."

Team 10 saw Ino pale at Kakashi's blunt answer. Naruto felt a little rage well up in him at the small lecture.

Kakashi didn't and pulled a small match from his pocket. "Like Naruto's leaf, this is a first step procedure. Use your chakra to make the match ignite. This is a great way to bring you fire chakra to full force."

He tossed it to Ino, who fumbled to catch it. Then Kakashi walked passed her towards Shino.

"Now for lightning. Lightning can be just as dangerous as wind because the source of lighting must come from within you body. The body can generate a generous amount of electricity even without using chakra, so it can be a powerful but dangerous jutsu."

Shino nodded, but Naruto saw the slight confused expression on his eyebrows. Kakashi, however, didn't notice.

"Now, for lightning, all you need to do his use the proper hand signs and vibrate your chakra pathways. It's as simple as that. The vibration in you body will create a generous amount of friction to give an electrical charge."

Shino didn't say anything or even give any kind of notion that he understood. Kakashi didn't seem to care and pulled another object from his pouch. It was a small lightbulb that he tossed to Shino.

"This will be a great first step for you. Use your chakra to make the bulb light-up."

Shino studied the bulb and nodded his thanks to Kakashi. But Team 10 noticed his forehead wrinkled with confusion.

"Well, my work here is done. See ya!" he smiled and disappeared in a gust of wind.

Shikaku growled. "The stubborn, lazy bastard. I was hoping he would be a little bit more thorough."

"It's ok, sensei," said a depressed Ino.

"No, it's not. He just threw you the basics without go more in-depth. I swear, he's the most laid-back, self-absorbed son of a-"

"Sensei, calm down!" yelled Naruto. "I'm sure we can figure this out on our own."

Shikaku took a deep breath and smiled at Ino and Shino. "Actually, I know a little bit about your jutsus to help you two out. One should always be prepared and study every aspect that's available to you."

The teacher turned to Ino. "What Kakashi failed to explain was that breathing techniques are the keys to water and fire jutsus. The oxygen you breath needs to go into your lungs from the mouth so it can ignite. But it also helps you exhale from your diaphragm a lot quicker for a fire jutsu. This way, it won't backfire on you and burn extensively. Water-style air needs to be breathed in through the nose. For water jutsus to work, you need to be near a source of water and breath in the moisture it gives off into your lungs into your nose."

Ino nodded in agreement.

"And Kakashi needed to give you more details on how to warm your chakra. There's more to using fire than just imagining your chakra warming up like a campfire. It needs to be more critical than that."

"What do you mean sensei?" asked Ino.

"Let me ask you this. How is heat generated?"

It was Shino who answered. "Molecules in the air are accelerated at high speeds, which causes heat."

"Exactly. When you are preparing to use your chakra for a fire jutsu, imagine your chakra is acceleration inside your pathways. And that the acceleration is causing heat which will ignite the oxygen you stored in you lungs."

A look of recognition appeared on Ino's face. "I get it now. The faster my chakra is, the more heat I'll cause."

Shikaku smiled and nodded at his student. He then turned to Shino. "Now for you, I'll will agree with Kakashi on one thing. Lightning is just as dangerous as wind, if not more. Since the electricity is generated from your body, you will have a higher risk of electrocuting yourself from the inside. Every person has enough watts inside each of them to kill themselves. So you need to ease yourself into using lightning so you can build you body up as a safe, electrical conductor. But I'm worried about your insects."

Shino nodded. "My hive will be able to become immune to my jutsus with time. However, it may take a while there's the possibility I may lose a number of my insects."

"Just take your time, Shino," smiled Ino. "We'll have plenty of it."

Shino nodded in agreement, while Shikaku smiled.

"Now, Kakashi should have been more specific on how to make your lightning chakra. He was right on making your chakra vibrate and use it as a conductor, but a good way would have been explaining how."

"How do I make my chakra vibrate?" asked Shino.

"Try to imagine your chakra as a string. Most likely a string on a sitar or a violin. When the string is plucked, the vibration from the string will make a sound. When the string inside your chakra pathways is plucked, it will cause the negative and positive ions in your body to be disrupted. They will then quickly merge together once more and create a strong electric current. The current will flow throughout your chakra pathway and through your muscles to the outside of your body. Understand?"

Shino nodded, understanding what he needed to do to begin his training.

"Any questions? Clear as mud?" asked Shikaku.

Everyone nodded their heads.

Shikaku kept watching his students with pride. He noticed that any free chance they got, he would see them always training to their fullest extents. He never even had to tell them what they should do in their free time or what exercises they should do next.

The genins then took a deep breath as one and removed their top hand, revealing their elemental training tools.

Shino's light bulb had the faintest glow from the copper coil inside. Ino's match had small, black burn mark on the red area. Naruto's leaf had a slight nick on one side. Despite their weariness, each one had a small smile on their faces.

Shikaku put away his scroll and stood. "That's enough, kids. I think you've wearied yourselves out enough tonight. It's time for bed."

"Since we agreed to sleep in shifts, who will take the first one tonight, sensei?" asked Shino.

"I will," said Naruto immediately.

"Are you sure?" asked Shikaku. "I wouldn't mind taking the first half while you three divide up the last."

"We all need our rest, sensei. But I'm still full of energy despite my training. And since this is our first C-mission, I consider it an honor to be first on watch."

Ino smirked. "Don't get too excited. It's not like were fighting rogue shinobi."

Naruto chuckled. "I can't help. We're actually outside the village gates, inside dangero-well, semi-dangersous territory and are about to visit an allied village. This is something we all should remember."

"Maybe, my friend," Shino said. "But we can't be too relaxed."

"I know. Expect the unexpected. I would still like to be first on watch tonight."

Shikaku nodded. "Ok, then. Naruto will be on the first watch tonight. Then Shino, myself, and Ino will finish up the early morning hours. Does that sound suitable for everyone?"

Everyone nodded and got ready. Ino and Shino each got into a separate single-person tent while Shikaku got into a sleeping bag between the tents. Naruto summoned a few clones and ordered them to stand guard outside of the camp. He then settled down by the dying fire and pulled out small, book from his jacket. The title 'Kushina Uzumaki' was written on the cover.

Naruto turned the bookmarked he placed in from his last reading. So far, he found out his mother came from a small country called the Land of Eddys, or Whirpools. He read that her father, Kazuma Uzumaki, was one of the village's small group of leaders, but was assassinated by an unknown village when she was 8. Her mother, Vahara Uzumaki, was leader of the village's Secret Ops and lieutenant of the 2nd division of the alliance of the Leaf, Eddy and Waterfall villages during the Third Ninja war.

Kushina was an only child, but had dozens of cousins in village. It was a small village, but everyone was family. But for some reason, she seemed to see less and less of them each month. She thought everyone was just going away for a trip. As she got older, she realized her older family and friends were being killed. In fact, she was beginning to notice less and less villagers every week.

Naruto turned to the page marked March, 19. Kushina was only 10.

Kahna-sensei wasn't at the academy. Our sub told us she was sick and would be gone a few weeks. But I knew what happened. His body language was easily readable. I think I've been spending too much time with mom. I can easily tell when our teachers our lying now these days. It was obvious Kahna-sensei wasn't coming back.

Mom was late tonight from her meeting. I once again made ramen for supper, even though everyone's been trying to get me to cut back. But tonight, mom didn't say anything. She just accepted her bowl, downed it in on gulp, and went to her room. Usually she would tell me how many people were lost today in the fights or who pissed her off this time, but she didn't do anything this night. I wonder what happened today.

But now, as I"m writing this, I'm pretty sure I can hear her crying.

I'm scared.

Naruto frowned as he turned the next page.

March 20

I can't believe it! I'm actually going on mission! S-Rank, too! Orders from the head honcho himself. I was called out of class right after lunch to town hall. The council of elders was their along with my headmaster and my mom. The elders were smiling. My mom gave me a small smile, but it didn't look right.

I immediately said 'I didn't do it', which made everyone chuckle. The head honcho told me the Leaf village was requesting a ninja that had an unlimited amount of potential for a classified mission with the hidden leaf. They told me mom already approved of the mission if I accepted. I saw her nod at the corner of my eye. Once I saw that, I immediately accepted the mission.

The told me the actually mission wouldn't take place until I turned thirteen, but I would be able to begin my training within a week.

Oh, I just want to tell everyone. But I know I can't.

March 24

I'm so pissed off right now! Those old geezers didn't bother to tell me I would be leaving the village to start my training and would be staying in the Leaf village for next 10 years. 10 YEARS! Now I know why mom was sad these past few days. She could only tell me after I decided to accept the mission or not. Nevertheless, she told me she's proud of me and accepts my decision. She's been training me these pass few days and gave the heads up earlier this morning. She's been toughening me up so I can take on the boys and prove how tough a kunoichi can really be. I promised her I will. No student is ever going the best of ME! BELIEVE IT!

Naruto laughed out loud when he read that part. His mom was so much similar to him it was scary. He turned the page, hoping to read one more entry before he put it away for the night.

March 26

Well, tomorrow is the day. Konoha is sending an escort to take back to the Hidden Leaf Village. Some big hotshot, shinobi name Jiraiya. Mom told me that if the guy ever looked at me looked at me wrong, I suppose to hit him in the nads as hard as I can.

Mom and I didn't train today. Instead, we spent the whole day just hanging out. We slept in late, went fishing, had lunch at the ramen stand, and went through our old photo albums. After that we went for a walk through the village while she talked about meeting dad and how much she missed him. It was sad seeing my mom so vulnerable.

When we got back, I immediately found out that my friends and family threw a going away party for me. Mom actually got a bathtub-size bowl of ramen for me. It was meant to be for everyone but I finished half of it before anyone else got it.

Everyone's gone now. It's still hard to think about leaving tomorrow. In fact, when mom hugged me goodnight, we didn't let go for nearly ten minutes. This is going to be extremely hard for her. It's taken me this long to figure out I'm all she's got left.

I think I'll go sleep in her bed tonight.

Naruto closed the book and wiped a tear from his eye. His mom sudden like a brash, young girl but one that was loved by her mother and her family.

"I wish we could have met, mom," he whispered.

He then felt two warm presences. One was the pendant on his chest. He grasped it and felt a glow swarm his entire body. It felt like the feeling he gets when he is with Ayame.

However, the second feeling seemed to come from his naval.

"We are almost there kids," said Shikaku as he led them through the forest path. It was noon and was starting to get warm in the day. Shikaku had told them they would meet their contact near the village's entrance. He had warned them about the screening process to get inside the village. They didn't take any offense to the process, only eager to begin to mission.

"Remember, we're going to be here for nearly a week's time, only as long as the festival allows. Our job is only to protect the borders of the village when it's our turn to patrol. Try not to get involved with problems the village has."

"Why not? Are we not allies?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, we are," Shikaku said. "But the problem is that even though we are allied, each village has it's own secrets and are always on a hair trigger to blow up."

"So be on our best behavior in other words," said Ino.

"Pretty much. I know it may be rough but-" Shikaku held up his hand, signaling them to stop. He made a notion to the trees to the left and the disappeared into them. Hiding in the branches, the gazed into the clearings.

"What is it, sensei?" asked Ino.

"There is a fight up ahead," he answered. "Be silent, stay in the trees."

The genin nodded and leapt through the branches towards the source of the commotion. The kids couldn't hear anything at first, but the sounds of a fight became pretty obvious the closer they got. The stopped when they came to a small clearing near the mountain range that lied in the center of the country. A giant waterfall was cascading from the mountain into a giant pool at the bottom. However, the roar of the falls did nothing to block the fighting.

Near the pool were two groups. The largest group was what seemed to be a group of about twenty bandits. They didn't look like they had any kind of training, but were carrying weapons. Looked gritty, but still dangerous to civilians.

The second, smaller group stood across from them. It only consisted of two individuals. One was a man who looked like just got the crap kicked out of him. He was bleeding and lying in the arms of a girl the same age as Team 10.

"Nice try, elder but now you're brat's going to pay the price," yelled the tallest bandit who was obviously the leader. In one hand he held a giant hammer. In the other he held a boy by front of his shirt.

"Let him go," yelled elder as he spat out blood and struggled to get up.

"I don' think so. You had your chance to tell me how to get into your village," the bandit yelled. He then threw the boy to the ground and raised his hammer. "Now you can suffer with your son's death!"

The elder and girl screamed out loud as the hammer descended onto the boy's head. But at the last second, the hammer froze.

"What the hell? I can't move!" the leader cried out. None of the other bandits noticed the thin shadow attached to him from the trees.

"Subdue them," said Shikaku as he held his hands in the ram seal. "I"ll hold the leader."

Team 10 leaped through the cover of the trees and towards the bandits. Ino pulled a handful of smoke bombs from her pouch and threw them into the center of the group. The bandits immediately started coughing the moment they exploded.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu," cried Naruto. Five clones appeared beside him, each rushing off to deal with their own opponents. The original engaged the one who looked like he was next toughest guy after their leader. He was blindly swinging a chipped sword through the smoke. Naruto ducked under one swing and delivered a swift side kick to the man's gut, making him double over and allowing Naruto to knee him in nose. A loud crack echoed through the area as the man collapsed. Another thug saw his comrade fall and charged Naruto with a vengeful fury, swinging a heavy staff over his head for a downward strike. Naruto rolled through the man's legs and created another clone when he got back to his feet. He grabbed the clone's hands and swung him in an arc towards the man's head. The clone's feet connected to his head, causing the man to spin several time in air before landing hard onto the ground. Naruto kept swinging the clone and released him into three more thugs charging him together. The flying clone hit all three bandits with a bowling pin crash.

Ino threw a handful of shurikun towards two of the bandits. The stars embedded into their hands, causing them to drop their weapons. She gave a hard left hook to the first thug and made him spit out a few teeth. She leapt onto his neck and flipped towards the second bandit, swinging her leg into an axe kick onto his head. The bandit stayed up in a daze before falling over. A scrawny bandit came screaming towards her while swinging a badly damaged katana. Ino withdrew her father's sword and braced herself for her opponent's attack. The bandit swung the blade in a diagonal strike. Ino easily parried the blade, pivoted her feet and swung the blade downwards onto the bandit's hands without he flat side of the blade. The bandit screamed in pain and dropped his sword. Ino swung again and struck him on the side of the head, dropping him like dead weight. Then brought her blade to meet her next foe.

Shino hurried forward to the fallen child, since he was the fastest of his comrades. He pulled the child, who turned out to just as old as him, from underneath the lead thug's hammer. He carried the boy to the elder and girl and laid him gently onto the ground. Shino then rushed back into the battle with his insects flowing from his sleeves along with his kamas. His insects swarmed six of the bandits who were rapidly trying to brush them off. One bandit brushed off enough insects to swing his staff at Shino. The genin slashed towards the weapon, easily cleaving the end that would have slammed into his head. The thug stared stupidly at his staff. Shino gave three more quick strikes which reduced the weapon to kindling. He then gave a side kick to the man's chin, knocking the man out cold. He moved onto the other five bandits, quickly slashing their weapons to pieces and inflicting non-lethal cuts onto their arms and legs. In mere moments, they were immobile thanks to his skill and kikaichu.

Team 10 had dispatched their opponents in nearly 20 seconds. A few of them turned tail and ran seeing their comrades fall. Shikaku looked on with pride as he leapt to the ground with his shadow still attached to the lead thug.

"Good job, Team 10. Naruto, if you would?" asked Shikaku.

Naruto and his remaining clones nodded. They each pulled several balls of dough and rubbed them together.

"Ninja Art! Ramen Bind Jutsu!" All of them threw a ball of dough towards the bandits. One by one, they were bound with a strong rope of dough.

When the leader was bound, Shikaku released his shadow. The thug fell do the ground at their feet.

"Who the hell are you?" yelled the leader.

"You're not in a position to talk," said a calm Shikaku. "We'll deal with you in a moment." He turned his attention to the elder and two kids. He walked towards them and bowed to elder. "Hello once again, sir."

The elder looked confused before giving a small smile. "It's been a while Nara-san. It seems the Hokage has chosen well to aid us in our endeavor."

"You know these people, sensei?" asked the girl.

"Just the teacher," said the man. "We were comrades in the Last War." He then turned to the three genin. "And you come with students."

"Yes, I have," said Shikaku as he herded his students in front of him. "Meet your reinforcements."

The smile on the elder's face faltered a little. "Are you sure they will be enough?"

Shikaku smiled grew bigger. "They will be enough. Meet Uzumaki Naruto, Yamanaka Ino, and Aburame Shino." The genin each bowed when their name were called.

"And who might you be, sir?" Ino asked politely.

Before the elder could answer, their was a swift wind and five Waterfall jonin appeared next to them. All of them had the symbol of the waterfall inscribed onto their headbands. The man in the front looked on in surprise at the rounded up bandits and small team of genin. He turned to the elder.

"My lord! Are you ok?" he asked.

"I'm fine, Suien," the man said as he was helped up by the boy and girl. "I was saved by our reinforcements."

The jonin turned to the Leaf ninjas with shock and disbelief. One started chuckling.

"This is what the mighty Hidden Leaf Village sends to help its allies in their time of need? An old teacher and three punks?" said the man.

Shikaku didn't say anything, but all the genin scowled in annoyance.

"I trust Sarutobi's confidence," said the elder. "If he believes they will be enough, then I will trust his judgement."

"Do you really believe so, my lord?" asked the Suien.

Before anyone could say anything, Shikaku clapped a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I assure you that we are capable enough."

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," sneered the jonin from earlier.

Naruto had about enough. He turned and headed into clearing away from the jonin. He knew he shouldn't have done this but he was just about tired of all the heckling. Naruto formed his hands into the cross symbol.

"Don't ever underestimate me!" Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The clearing was filled with smoke and several loud pops. A moment later, the smoke cleared and revealed nearly 500 shadow clones covering the area. Standing on the pool, hanging in the branches, and leaning on the rock face. Each of them had a sly smirk on their faces.

Everyone from the Waterfall village watched on in shock at Naruto's display. Shikaku watched with an annoyed acceptance. Shino and Ino both smiled at their friend's display of power.

"Good enough for you?" asked all of the Narutos.

There was a moment of silence before it was broken by the elder laughing. It was a few seconds of deep, booming laughter that echoed in the clearing. It was a while before he stopped.

"Leave it to the Sandaime to be full of surprises," the elder said. He turned to the leader of the jonin. "Take the prisoners to the interrogation hold. I want to know why they were wanting to get into our village."

Suien nodded and waved his hand to his comrades. They began to haul of the prisoners into the forest. The elder then turned to the genin and bowed to them. He was wearing a pair of black shinobi pants and sandals. He had a short-sleeved purple shirt. His was brown with gray streaks.

"My name is Shiruze Taka. I am the leader of Village Hidden in the Waterfalls." He raised his hand and motioned for the two kids to join him.

The boy was about their age, tall as Shino but a little on the jittery side. He was wearing pair of cargo shorts with his calves and ankles tapped up. He had on a blue long-sleeved shirt with a purple vest. He too had on a headband with the Waterfall symbol on his head. His brown hair and brown eyes were the same as his father's, except his hair was in a ponytail.

"This is my son, Shibuki," Taka announced.

Then the girl stepped. She was wearing a fishnet body suit with a short skirt and a tube top. Her hair was a lime-green color and cut short, just above her ears. Her eyes were red and were very bright.

It was her eyes the grabbed Naruto's attention the most. When looking into her eyes, it was like looking into a mirror. He saw the same loneliness and fear in her eyes. The feeling of abandonment and sadness. And with the way she was looking at him, he could instantly tell she could see the same thing.

"And this is my charge and apprentice, Fu."

Fu kept staring at Naruto as she walked up to greet them. She then bowed.

"It is an honor," she said in a near whisper. Her eyes never left the blonde male.

Naruto bowed back. It was a surprise to his friends and teacher to see him hold such chivalry towards others.

"It is an honor indeed."

There is something about this girl that I feel that I need to know he thought.

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. Lately, I've been getting a little rusty in my writing. Please tell me what you think.