Wow, it's been over two months since I last update this. Sorry for the long absence, but collage has been a real horror these past, few months and only recently did I got enough free time to sit down to it and finish this chappie.

To be honest it's not exactly how I pictured it. Basically it deals with a lot of info about Teigo's past. At first I was planning to reveal a lot less at this point of the story, but oh well. This chapter may seemed a bit rushed and that is the effect of me reorganizing it to the point to give more details about Teigo.

As always I wanna thank everyone who took their time to review the previous chapter. It means a lot. I'm glad you enjoyed the previous chappie and hope that you'll find this one worth waiting for (especially since I won't update unless I get reviews).

And now, without further to do, here's the newest chapter of "Those Who Inherit the Will of Fire":

Chapter #11: New Mission and New Mysteries!

Title Page: team number one is riding a huge snake: Buryaku is holding the laces, Toramaru is catching Naraku, who fell off, by the shirt, while Teigo stands right behind the lazy girl with his arms crossed

Teigo jumped from one tree branch onto another. He kept on moving forward, completely ignoring the branches and bushes that scratched him, leaving small cuts all over him. He embraced a small objected, wrapped in a black blanket tighter as he looked over his shoulder, noticing that the four men that were chasing him were getting closer.

A sudden sound alarmed him just in time. He leaned to his left, thus avoiding a cut from a kunai that flew right at him from nowhere. However the maneuver made him lose balance and drop to the ground with his head first. Upon flipping in mid-air, he managed to land safely on his feet and gaze up to see a certain, sliver-haired man, wearing glasses and a black and grey outfit. But the thing that drew the most attention in him was a headband on his forehead with a note drawn on it.

"This is really disappointing, Teigo" the man announced, adjusting his glasses. "For you, out of all the people, to betray us like this. And for what?" and with that he gazed at the blanket that the masked ninja still held in his hands. "We're gonna need that back…"

At this point the four men chasing him caught up and immediately surrounded him, blocking any, possible way of escape. Teigo looked around, realizing that if he wanted to get out, he needed to fight. He gently placed the blanket under a nearby tree and then settled his eyes on the sliver-haired man again.

"So you won't give up" noticed the man calmly with a sigh. "It's pretty regrettable… if it's possibly, Orochimaru-sama asked me not to kill you. Let me ask you something: do you really expect that you can win?"

"Not really" admitted Teigo, raising his right arm. "But it's either fight or allow you to drag me back there. Out of the two, I prefer dying in a fight, in stead of dying and getting reborn as that bastard's puppet! There was a time when I'd follow him blindly, even if he'd order me to jump into a fire! And this is how he repays me? And do you believe that you're irreplaceable, Kabuto? Sooner or later, out of necessity or whatever reason he'll find suitable, you'll end up in a situation just like me… or maybe even worst…"

"Perhaps I will" replied the silver-haired man calmly, once more adjusting his glasses. "Perhaps I won't. However you won't be able to know the answer to this one" and with that he charged straight at Teigo at an incredible speed, allowing the masked man only to block the first punch with his melody arm.

Teigo instantly shoot up. His body was covered in sweat as he breathed heavily. His eyes traveled to his right, where sunrays began entering his room through the window. He then gazed at his hands, now completely uncovered, that were full of cuts and scars. He just shook his head while getting up from the bed and walked, dressed only in short pants, through his apartment. Without his outfit, one could easily see that his entire body was full of all sort of scars: not just cuts, but also burns and bruises and a large, black snake tattoo that went down his back.

He stopped before the mirror and looked deep into his own eyes, now calm as usual: "Stupid dream" he said to himself with a weak tone of anger showing in his voice. He glanced away for a split second and staring into the wall, he said, this time with concern: "But this nightmare won't end, will it? The only chance for me to make them stop slipped long ago… I guess this is my punishment. But even taking everything I did into consideration, did I really deserved all this, Mabui-chan?"

---A little later, elsewhere---

Toramaru stretched himself as a sudden urge to fall asleep came over him. He gazed at Buryaku, who was snoring loudly, while she slept, propped against the rail of the bridge. The blonde's eye twitched with annoyance as he then turned towards the horizon, where the sun only began rising. Crossing his arms, he announced loudly, boiling inside: "What the hell is this all about, making us wake up so early? This mission that Teigo-sensei mentioned yesterday better be worth all the trouble, coz if it's another dog walking I'm gonna flip!"

"Just relax" Naraku advised his friend as he kept his hands in his pockets. "Either way you have no power over what assignment we get. What good will worrying and getting angry over it do?" he asked rhetorically and then turned to the other side of the bridge, where the jounin instructor suddenly appear.

"Oh, you're all already here" Teigo noticed as he walked over to the trio. He then spotted Buryaku sleeping and a single drop of sweat run down his face before he turned towards his two, awake subordinates: "I'm just heading back from the Hokage Tower and we already have our new mission assigned: we are to bring classified documents to a contact of the Iwagakure in Stone Country…"

"A delivery mission?" asked Toramaru disappointed. "I was hoping for some action…"

"Actually, you should be glad I've managed to convince your Hokage to allow me to take you guys out of the village" responded Teigo simply, cutting the boy off. "After all you're still rookies and it's not safe for you to leave the village" and with that his eyes meet with Naraku's for a split second before he went on: "Now, wake Buryaku up and lets get going…"

---A little later at the Hokage Tower---

"Are you sure it was a good idea to let them go out of the village this soon?" Sasuke asked as he looked at Naruto, who sat behind his desk, resting his chin on his hands. "They still lack in many aspects and Stone Country is far away..."

The blonde didn't answer. He just stood up and slowly walked towards the window. He gazed through it and after a longer moment, he decided to speak up: "We can't keep them in the village all the time. Sooner or later we'd have to let them out. Besides, by allowing Teigo to move outside the village, we may be able to obtain more information about those people with weird tattoos…"

"If you ask me, you're way too optimistic… to start off I still can't find a good reason for you to trust Teigo so much. He was Konoha's enemy. Heck, before my very eyes he killed my entire squad. Who knows, if he wanted, he may even be able to match me…"

"That may be so" admitted Naruto calmly, still not turning away from the window. "And I know that he doesn't seem like a loyal leaf-nin… in actuality I don't suppose he is… but this is the one thing you can be sure he'll bet his life for. Those three are the safest when they're with him, because in that matter he certainly won't back away even one step…"

---Later still, village in Stone Country---

"Wow, you can seriously buy anything around here" noticed Toramaru as he looked around the street, filled with all sorts of wagons, each holding different merchandise. Looking up one would see that the street was also decorated with tall, white lamps that held candles inside small, glass cages on top that enlighten the city after dark.

Aside from the wagons, many of the houses near the road also had signs representing different workshops. Buryaku recognized dew blacksmiths and taverns for the travelers. As she followed the blonde in observing the wagons, she noticed several swords and axes laid out for sale, some of the decorated with golden markings or jewels. Here and there one could buy some simple clothes or the works of local craftsmen like wooden figures or masks. She even spotted a wagon with jewelry and one with colorful sauces in large baskets.

Teigo stopped at one of the wagons and bought some food. He gave away equal shares to his subordinates, announcing that there's still one day trip to their meeting spot, so they should conserve it. As they walked on, a sudden voice made the jounin stop in his tracks, almost like he got paralyzed: "Teigo-san, I didn't expect to see you again…"

Toramaru instantly glanced in the direction the voice came and saw a girl only few years older then himself, with long, dark-blue hair, made into a Chinese hairdo, leaning out of her tent, which apparently was selling some sort of good luck charms. The girl had violet eyes, was wearing a dark-blue kimono, had a beautiful, golden necklace around her neck, and, as the blonde thought, was very attractive. As he dozed off, starting to blush, Naraku only shook his head at his teammate's behavior: "Good thing Garou isn't here, otherwise this would get embarrassing…" he thought to himself, while sweat dropping.

"I'm sorry, but I do not recall us meeting before" Teigo replied calmly after a moment of silence as he turned towards the girl. "And this is my first time visiting this town. Forgive my rudeness, but I do believe you're mistaking me for someone I'm not…"

"No, I'm sure it's you!" the girl announced cheerfully as she pointed her finger at him. "You're still wearing the same outfit you did al those years ago and carry this… melody arm, was it? The only things that changed is the fact that I'm older and you're traveling with three kids in stead of that other girl… what was her name again?" and with that the blue-haired girl tried to remember something, but Teigo interrupted her trail of thoughts:

"I'm sorry, but I really don't know…"

"Sure you do! You couldn't have forgotten! I mean, you're the one who gave me this necklace, remember? I'm Aiko!" the girl asked, holding out her neck decoration right in front of Teigo's face. The jounin went silent for a moment. Toramaru noticed a sad expression crossing his face for a split second, yet in a flash the older ninja regained his usual posture and once more glancing at the girl, he repeated: "Surely you're mistaken. I've never seen this thing before, nor do I recall meeting anyone who'd look like you. Now, please excuse me, but my companions and I have a task to fulfill" and with that he began walking away, with the three, confused gennin following him.

They walked in silence. Only after they left the town behind did Toramaru decided to speak up, curious about the same thing his other teammates wanted to ask about as well: "Teigo-sensei, that girl just now… who was it? And what was that necklace that you…"

"It's nothing!" the man responded, for the first time ever the trio hearing him raise his voice. Once more he quickly returned to his usual self and as calm as always, he added: "I already told that girl that she confused me with someone she knew. I've been only once in Stone Country and never in these parts. And even if what would I be doing in a shop that sells good-luck charms?" and with that he speed up, trying to avoid further conversation.

"But…" the blonde began, yet was instantly quiet down by Buryaku, who covered his mouth and whispered into his ear: "Are you really this dumb? Obviously Teigo-sensei does not want to talk about it and as much as I'd like to know what that was all about as well, if you'll keep pushing, you'll only result in him deciding to keep it to himself. In these kind of situations it's best to just let it go and wait until the other person will be ready to tell you his secret. It's troublesome, but that is the best thing you can do at this point…"

Toramaru only exchanged quick glances, while the jounin stopped: "We'll stay here for the night, but we'll head out first thing in the morning so get some sleep. If we'll hurry, we'll reach our meeting spot by the end of tomorrow" and with that he walked into the tavern that was just outside of the forest, their route for tomorrow.

However not all, young shinobi decided to listen to their instructor. As the night fell, Toramaru and Naraku sneaked out of the tavern and disappeared in the darkness of the night, heading back to the village.

Aiko slowly walked over to the door as loud knocking filled her house. She pquickly put on her kimono and opened the door, noticing two boys standing in the dark street, lightened only by the lamps. She gave the two a questioning look and upon bowing, Naraku spoke up: "Forgive our late visit, but there's something we'd like to ask you about…"

"You want to know about that masked man you travel with?" Aiko repeated as all three of them now sat next to the table with tea on it. She took a small dip and looked the two boys over, still a little suspicious. "If you want to know about him so much, why don't you just ask him? I shouldn't reveal his secrets, considering he went so far as to ignore our meeting from those years back…"

"Well, it's a bit complicated, but he never really said anything about himself and the thing is" began Toramaru, carefully picking his words while he scratched the back of his head. "Well, the thing is that he used to be our enemy and we're not really sure if we can trust him! We have no idea why he came to our side nor if he really did so! Plus… we don't like him…"

Aiko giggled at his last statement and placed her teacup on the table. She connected her hands before herself and after a moment of thought, she announced: "It was about seven years ago. I remembered that, because that was the first time every that a ninja came to visit my mother's store. It was a big surprise, since we didn't believe shinobi believed in things like luck or fortune telling. I was only about ten years old back then when he came in, along with a girl that seemed his age…"

"Yeah, that girl, do you have any idea who that could be?" asked Naraku gentle, making the girl trailed off in her thoughts for another moment. After awhile, she shook her head in disagreement, before continuing: "I'm not sure… the two could've been a pair or siblings. Either way they seemed pretty close. I do recall that the girl was a bit wider then a typical girl should be…"

"What do you mean by that?" asked Toramaru nervously, which earned his an elbow from Naraku, which was suppose to remind him of manners. Aiko glanced over at the blonde, as she replied: "Well, considering she had a really pretty face, I'd say it's safe to assume she was pregnant, although she seemed only a little older then I am now…"

"Pregnant at that age?" Naraku's eyes widen at the statement, but Toramaru only announced as calm as ever: "It's not all that surprising. My mother was around that age when she gave birth to my older brother and considering she's the same age as your mom, it'd mean your oldest sibling came to this world when Sakura-san was even younger then that. The thing that interests me is why would they come to a place like this?"

"Well, as they entered, they stated that they're looking for a pair of rings" Ako replied almost immediately. "I remember that was really important to both of them, but since none had any money, they decided to trade and thus they gave me the necklace of that girl for two, simple rings…"

"Rings?" Naraku repeated confused. "What's that all about?"

"I don't suppose that is any of your business" they heard a familiar voice coming from behind and as they turned around, they saw Teigo standing right behind them with anger showing on his face: "I thought I gave you an order to stay in the tavern until morning. By disobeying my direct command, you earned yourselves a big punishment once we get back to Konoha! Now get out of my sight before I'll really get pissed!" and without a moment waste the two ran out of the house, each throwing a quick 'goodbye' to Aiko.

Teigo then gazed at the girl, making her look at the floor. He slowly walked over to her, while he apologized: "I'm sorry, Teigo-san, but those kids really wanted to know and…" but at this point he interrupted her, by placing his hand on her shoulder: "Don't worry about that. They're the ones I'm mad at, not you… forgive my cold treatment from earlier, but this is the part of my past I wanna keep to myself. No-one should learn about it, considering that is my punishment for what I did…"

The girl once more lowered her head, not sure what she should say. The one to break the silence again was Teigo: "That necklace… I have the money now, but never got a chance to return to these parts. Since I got here, it's best to use this opportunity. But while we make the trade, how about you tell me how you were doing all those years? And what happened to your mother?"

---The next day---

"Two rings?" Buryaku repeated in a whisper as she, Toramaru and Naraku walked few meters behind Teigo. The two told her the story from the other night, making the lazy interest bloom again: "Why? And more importantly: since they did bought them, where are they now? It's safe to assume one was for that girl and the other for Teigo-sensei, yet he's not wearing any rings…"

"I'm more interested in that pregnant girl" announced Naraku, also quietly. "Like why was Teigo-sensei with her? You think it was his girlfriend or something? And if she really was pregnant, you think it was Teigo-sensei's kid?"

"Well, the truth is we really know nothing about him" concluded Buryaku, gazing at the jounin for a moment: "What he did before he became a leaf-nin and why did he became one in the first place? We don't even…" but before she could finish, the masked man interrupted her trail of thought:

"Get out of here!" Teigo yelled in an ordering tone, making all gennin gaze at him confused. Buryaku only managed a weak 'why', but before she could even finish that question, the jounin turned towards them and with a serious face, he announced: "I gave you an order, dammit! You wanna disobey me again? You're gennin and thus you gotta learn to listen to higher ranked shinobi! Get out of my face or you'll end up dead! Now!"

With the last moment of hesitation, Buryaku and Naraku fulfilled the order, grabbing Toramaru and taking him along. As the young shinobi disappeared between the trees, Teigo once more gazed at the road behind them and narrowed his eyes as a sudden blur came right to him.

In a flash he swung his arm and emitting a powerful sound wave made the tree to his right crack into pieces, making a mysterious figure retreat and land on a tree branch of the tree next to it. As the figure stopped, Teigo managed to take a closer look and upon realizing who it was, he just narrowed his eyes even more: "Sorry, my friend, but if you want those kids, you'll have to get through me first…"

"And since when are you so faithful to your companions, Teigo?" the figure responded. It turned out to be a boy around eighteen years old with long, white hair with a small braid made out of them falling on the left side of his face. His eyes were violet and his skin was incredibly pale. He wore a white robe that uncovered his chest, and light blue pants. "This is truly unlike you... you, who betrayed the man who gave you everything…"

"And you on the other hand are ready to do anything for him, Hakkotsu" the masked jounin replied calmly, getting into his fighting stance. "It's me who doesn't understand you. Out of all the people I knew, you should be the one to hate him the most, considering what he did to you…"

"Hate him for giving me power?" the boy asked surprised, holding out his arm. "Normally I'd just ignore all this, but considering you're a traitor, I'd feel greatly unsatisfied if I were to just leave you alive. For betraying our master… I'll kill you" and as he said so, a sharp-ended bone began coming from his palm, pointed at Teigo.

---Same time, a little further---

"What the hell is going on?" asked Naraku confused. "All of a sudden we're running away? From what? And what was that noise just now? Wasn't that Teigo-sensei's sound wave attack?" and with that he turned towards his teammates, but in stead of replying, Toramaru only yelled, throwing his hands to the sides: "Stop!"

As the three gennin did as told, trees that were just before them exploded and felt, blocking their way. Buryaku, with a calm face, yet a little nervous tone, analyzed the situation quickly, and came to a simple conclusion: "Explosive tags… this is an ambush!"

A second later weak clapping could be heard and as the trio turned in the direction it came from, they saw a man around twenty years old with medium-length, black hair, made into dreadlocks and hazel eyes. He wore a brown t-shirt and black, a little baggy, pants. Toramaru noticed a lot of rings on his fingers as well as two hilts of the swords appearing above his shoulders.

"I'm pretty amazed to see you noticed my trap" he announced calmly with a smile. "Must be the work of that famous Byakugan I've heard so much about. I do hope that you can do a lot more then that, coz I'm still slightly annoyed with the fact that it wasn't me who got to fight that asshole, Teigo. My name is Chitagana Yobiko and I'm afraid I need only one of you alive and thus, the other two will die… by my hand."

---mysterious enemies appear… their purpose?---

And this concludes this chapter. I really hope you enjoyed it and that you'll leave me a review once you're done. As always I'll put a character profile here, but considering everyone from the 'main' team was already done, the only one left (besides other gennin) is Teigo and since this chapter was somewhat about him:

Name: Kinuta Teigo

Family: he's a younger brother of Dosu, however aside from that nothing else is known in that matter. He prefers not to talk about his past and thus very little information is known about his possible relatives. Once asked about any, living relative, he replied there is none

Bloodline limit: none

Clan's Abilities: use of ninjutsu related to sound, using melody arm

Birth date: 23rd of May

Age: currently 27 years old

Blood type: A

Favorite food: octopus

Favorite quote: bonds, ties, respect… after everything, you still end up alone

Favored fighting style: taijutsu with the use of ninjutsu and his melody arm

Village: Konoha (Hidden Leaf), previously Oto (Hidden Sound)

Rank: jounin

Team: he leads the team consisting of Nara Buryaku, Uchiha Naraku and Uzumaki Toramaru

Techniques (used so far): Kage Bushin no Jutsu

First appearance: 8th chapter

And so this chapter is concluded. I really hope you did enjoy it. Thanks for reading and until next time, hopefully.