Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

-A Testament of Things that Never Will-

Naruto shielded his eyes from the burning rays of the sun and gazed at the Hokage tower. He and his team had been together for about a month and things were going great. Kakashi was taking an active approach in their training and teaching them a large diversity of things that they needed to know ranging from teamwork to tactics. Naruto found that he liked the lazy, perverted Jonin and, while the man was far less strict in his supervision than Yuri, Naruto had learned much from the man.

The blonde and his team stepped into the Hokage Tower and Sakura gasped, "It's so hot out."

Naruto smirked. His and the pinkette's relationship had changed drastically after the training session with Yuri. No longer did she call him names or put him down but she now playfully took jabs at him and he her. They were acting like real friends now. The only problem that Naruto could think of was that she hadn't gotten over her obsession of Sasuke and it did get slightly annoying to listen to her attempt to get the boy to go on a date with her.

As for her training in her kunoichi abilities, Sakura had asked Kakashi about the taijutsu that Yuri had suggested and the man did know someone who could teach it. He promised that he would talk to the man who could teach her after she had progressed far enough in her physical abilities to truly benefit from the style. She had also stopped her diet and she was full of energy because of it. She was still a little temperamental but she was working on it and the meditation that Naruto was teaching the team was helping her a lot.

The calming exercise was also helping Sasuke, who had relaxed dramatically since the session with Yuri. He didn't talk more but he did grunt less and actually communicated with them. His taijutsu had improved in the time since and he and Naruto had many spars. Naruto had been worried when he had beaten the Uchiha in their first spar together but instead of getting angry, Sasuke just got up, congratulated him with a simple nod of respect, and they started again. Yuri hadn't been entirely pleased when Naruto told him that he had lost that second spar but his sensei had told him that he was lucky to have found an effective sparring partner.

Naruto's relationship with both of them had started to move towards a friendship and he knew that the other two felt the same. Sakura was the talkative one, Sasuke was the silent one, and Naruto was the happy middle of the two. He could talk at length with Sakura but he also enjoyed the peaceful silence he and Sasuke often had together when they walked back to the village after training.

Yuri had come to two more sessions after the first and those days were always the hardest. He would make liberal use of his clones and fix mistakes the moment they happened. He had taught Sakura all he knew about Tsuyoi Hachisu which was limited to only the first two katas, had helped Naruto with both his styles, had given Sasuke intensive training with reading micromovements, and had subjected all of them to ambush training which had been exciting and fun for the three Genin as it taught them how to react as a team and it allowed Sasuke and Sakura to get their first real tastes of killing intent.

They entered the Hokage Tower and worked their way through it until they arrived at the Hokage's office. Naruto followed his Jonin-sensei into the room and was surprised to see a grim faced Yuri turn from talking with the old man.

"You called for Squad 7," Kakashi said.

The Jonin must have noticed Yuri's look because he immediately put his book away and gave his full attention to the situation. The friendship between Yuri and Kakashi had grown since they had first met and it was a good thing for the silver-haired man from what Naruto could tell. Near the beginning of Squad 7's formation, Kakashi always looked slightly worn, as if he didn't get enough sleep, but now he seemed to have more energy, like something had finally been put to rest or a burden had been lifted or shared. Naruto didn't know what happened between the two but both seemed to trust each other with their lives.

"I did," the old man said in a tone that Naruto had only heard a few times before. It was a serious voice that Naruto had called the old man's 'Hokage voice.' "I'm just going to cut right to it. Recently, I sent Genin Squad 10 on a C-rank mission. Asuma assured me that his team was ready but I suspect that there was another reason for his insistence on going. That was about nine days ago and I have just received a message from a futon jutsu from Asuma requesting back-up. The message was short, 'Enemy shinobi engaged.'

"At this time I don't know if Asuma and his team are even still alive and I am short on shinobi to send due to preparing for a meeting with the Raikage and the Kazekage. That is why I will be sending Genin Squads 7 and 8 and Yuri Karasu to assist Asuma's team. I am placing Kakashi-san in charge of this mission and, if things start to look bad, I am ordering you all to abandon the mission and return to Konoha. This is a serious mission and its rank is at least a B and more than likely an A. I may be overreacting but I believe that I am better safe than sorry in this situation."

Kakashi turned to Naruto and the other Genin, his eyes were serious with no hint of his normal humor or laziness. "Genin," he ordered. "Go and pack for a medium term mission like I showed you. Be at the Main Gate in twenty minutes. Go!"

Kakashi's reasoning for meeting at the Main Gate was simple, all major roads connected with the Main Gate.

The Genin bolted from the room and Kakashi turned back to the Hokage. "What was the mission?"

Yuri was the one who answered. "It was an escort mission to Wave. A bridge-builder, Tazuna Ito, hired a shinobi team to protect him on his way to Wave. He had said that there was some bandit activity in Wave that he was concerned about but never made mention of shinobi." The black-haired man looked at Hiruzen and asked, "What was Asuma's reason for taking this mission? His squad is weaker than Kakashi's and his is only barely ready for such a thing."

The old man bowed his head, a small look of shame crossed his face, and he said, "We had a fight the day before he left. It would appear that he couldn't even tolerate being in the same village as me after it."

Kakashi glanced at Yuri when he heard the man huff and asked the Hokage, "Is here anything else that we should be aware of? I'm making Yuri my second-in-command so what I know he knows and vis-versa."

"No," the old Sarutobi answered. "That is all that I know. Wave is relatively peaceful with only minor bandit activity. I had honestly thought that his team would be able to handle it but I doubt anyone could have foreseen shinobi becoming involved."

The old man sent Yuri a pointed look after his last sentence and Kakashi made a note to ask Yuri if he knew anything when they weren't so rushed.

"Kurenai and her team will be meeting at the Main Gate within the half-hour," Hiruzen said. "Go, and bring Squad 10 back alive."

-A Testament of Things that Never Will-

Yuri and Kakashi arrived at the Main Gate ten minutes after leaving the old man's office. It didn't surprise Yuri in the least that the silver-haired Jonin was taking the mission so seriously as the man had lost his own team in a mission gone bad.

Kurenai gave a wave when she spotted them and Yuri returned it with a nod of his head. He had only meet the Kurenai of this timeline a few times but if she was anything like the one he knew then she was a powerful genjutsu practitioner that even Itachi Uchiha complemented. Her death had not been a nice one and Yuri did his best to ignore the screams of pain and fear that echoed in his head. Her death had been a slow one... a terrible one and the young Hinata Hyuga's was no better.

He would have smiled when he saw the young girl if the situation wasn't so serious. She was so insecure that it was cute but when in battle she was a force not to be taken lightly. She had never really gotten over her insecurities, never had the chance really, and Yuri made a silent vow that he wouldn't let the small Hyuga and Kurenai die the way they did in his timeline.

A small bark made Yuri look to a white dog that came running to Kakashi's feet and it didn't shock Yuri that the man knelt down to pet it. Kakashi was a dog person, even had a summoning contract with a pack of ninja dogs. Akamaru, the dog, yapped and ran over to Yuri but when he got within three feet of him the dog stopped. Akamaru studied him, bowed his head, and started to whine.

"Akamaru," Kiba said as he ran over. "What's wrong buddy?" The Inuzuka shot Yuri a look and yelled, "Did you do something to Akamaru?!"

"Kiba!" Kurenai snapped and the boy looked at her sheepishly. She looked to Yuri with her mystifying red-eyes and said, "I apologize for his behavior."

"No reason to apologize," Yuri said and waved his hand to dispel some of the tension that thickened the air. "You're not the one who insulted me. The boy was the one who did that."

"Who are you calling 'boy'," Kiba barked.

Yuri ignored him and addressed the female Jonin. "You have been informed of our mission in detail?"

"Hai," she responded. "As I understand it, Kakashi is in command."

The Jonin just mentioned stepped forward and said, "As the Hokage commands. I have chosen Yuri as my second-in-command, have you two met?"

"Ah," Yuri said and bowed slightly. "Forgive me, I've yet to introduce myself. Yuri Karasu, Jonin of Konoha."

"Kurenai Yuhi," she said and sent the man an approving smile. The Kurenai of Yuri's timeline had always valued people being polite and respectful so the smile didn't take Yuri off guard nor send him the wrong message. The woman was with Asuma so there was little point in pursuing her as it was.

"Kakashi-sensei!" a familiar voice called and everyone looked to to see Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura come running down the road.

Kiba ran to Naruto and bellowed, "Naruto! Long time, no see, man!"

The blonde stopped to talk to the Inuzuka while Sasuke and Sakura approach Kakashi. The Uchiha sent a nod to Shino who hadn't said a word the entire time and the bug master returned it with one of his own.

"Alright, listen up everyone!" Kakashi said loudly. "This isn't a practice mission nor is this a normal outing. We are a reinforcement team being sent to aid Squad 10. A message was received that indicates that there are enemy shinobi involved with this mission. I'm in charge and anything I say goes. If I tell you to engage an enemy I expect you to do so and if I tell you to run then you don't look back, am I understood?"

The Genin of Squad 7 answered in acknowledgement at once. They had gone through some rather extreme combat training with Yuri and Kakashi and it was to be expected that they knew or at least grasped what they were getting into. Kurenai's team on the other hand answered much slower with Kiba barking off a quick 'Got it' and the other two only nodding.

"Good. The journey to Wave is about a two-week trip with a civilian escort. Team 10 left nine days ago, so we have to arrive in four days."

"That's quite the pace, Kakashi-san. I'm not sure either of our Genin can handle it," Kurenai commented.

Kakashi nodded and answered, "I have something in mind for when our Genin start to tire. There will be quick breaks to rest every three hours. We do not stop, even at night."

"How do we sleep?" Kiba asked.

Kakashi eye-smiled.

-A Testament of Things that Never Will-

The trip to Wave went by in a blur of green leaves and bitter exhaustion for the Genin. They had all been fine for the first several rests but Hinata had been the first to show signs of tiring. She had fallen out of formation but before anyone could say anything to her the black-haired Yuri snatched her out to the air and carried her on his back.

The girl had been mortified at being the first to need a break but Yuri assured her that she had done extraordinarily well for a Genin. The next had been Sakura, then Shino, and finally Kiba. Each of them had been taken by a kage bunshin that Yuri created and he even had two take Naruto and Sasuke after the first full day. They had both voiced their displeasure but Yuri had none of it as he told them to swallow their pride and stop pushing themselves so hard before a possibly difficult fight.

The trip continued in that pattern. The Genin would rest on the back of one of Yuri's kage bunshin and when they were rested they would continue the run. Traveling in such a way had first been proposed by Kakashi when the two had left the Hokage's office as the man had foreseen the Genin slowing the Jonin down.

They reached the waters on of the eastern border of Konoha and didn't slow as Yuri created enough clones to carry the Genin. The Jonin raced across the water and when they made it to land they each tensed.

"There is a battle going on up ahead," Kurenai said as she and the two male Jonin slowed to a stop.

Kakashi rubbed his chin and said, "There seem to be a few chakra signatures in their air."

"There are eight distinct chakra signatures in the air," Shino commented.

Kiba sniffed and growled, "I smell blood."

"Eight signatures means at least four enemies," Kakashi said. "Yuri, I want you to take one and separate them from the rest while Kurenai, Asuma, and myself handle the others. Kill them and then return to us as fast as you can. Your opponent won't be able to rely on aid if we're keeping them busy." He turned to the Genin and said, "I don't know how strong our opponents are so for the time being your mission is to get Tazuna and the Genin of Squad 10 away from the battle. Am I clear?"

They each responded.

Kakashi looked them each in the eyes and when he was satisfied he said, "Move out."

-A Testament of Things that Never Will-

Naruto's heart pounded in his chest as he ran beside Yuri. This was going to be his first real battle and he found that his mind was slowing down on him as his excitement and fear took charge.

'Remember Naruto,' Yuri had told him during his training before he became part of Squad 7, 'sometimes the smartest choices are ones that go against what your emotions tell you to do.'

Naruto focused his mind and channeled his energy and fear into tools that would help him keep sharp in battle. He was ready, or at least as ready as he could ever be.

The blonde broke through the green curtain of leaves and took his first look of the battle field. The man he knew to be Asuma from when the man came to pick up his team from the Academy was standing in the middle of the clearing, trench knives held tightly in his hands, and blood oozed from several wounds. An old man was near Naruto as he had apparently broken into the battle from Team 7's side of the clearing and Choji stood in front of the man with his arms crossed. Shikamaru was near Asuma, a hand over a red stain on his side and the other in a seal. Black shadows were spread around him and Asuma and Naruto guessed that he was using his family jutsu to keep the enemy at bay.

The group on the other side of the clearing had surprised looks on their faces as they most certainly had not been expecting Konoha shinobi to come bursting into the battle with a ferocity that could only be match by legend and make-believe. One of them had a massive sword and bandages covered his face. Another had a black trench-coat with a high collar and white hair. The third was a woman and she had on a red kimono that looked too constricting to fight in and accented her bust more than modesty would allow.

The fourth enemy, however, terrified Naruto to no end and almost caused his steps to falter. The man looked normal in every way and even wore a normal looking tan shirt and brown pants. He had a pleasant smile on his face and the killing intent that was flowing off of him was suffocating. Naruto had been trained to deal with killing intent but the amount that was coming off the guy was almost unreal. No one who could produce that much killing intent could be a good person, Naruto was convinced.

A pressure erupted to Naruto's left and Yuri unleashed a killing intent that obliterated the other man's. It wasn't directed at Naruto, so he didn't feel it, but it was like looking at an ocean without getting into it; he couldn't not notice how monstrous it was.

Yuri unleashed a roar that shook the air and rushed the smiling man. The black-haired Jonin was fast, faster than Naruto could see, and, before the enemy could react, the smiling man flew back into the forest with Yuri following close behind.

Yuri's action seemed to break the spell that had been placed on time itself and everything started to move again. The enemy charged, Asuma and Shikamaru collapsed, and the Genin followed close behind the Jonin to gather the fallen Sarutobi and Nara.

Naruto scanned the clearing for Ino and his heart skipped a beat when he found her. She was off to the left of the clearing, laying in a heap. The black coat man skirted around the edge of the clearing and Naruto saw that he was making his way to the young blonde girl.

He growled and rushed to Ino. Kakashi and Kurenai were busy with the other two shinobi and every effort that either of them made to get to the girl was thwarted. It was obvious to Naruto what the enemy shinobi were doing. In a normal battle the loss of a single Genin wouldn't have been that great of loss, in the grand scheme of things at least, but in a rescue mission the loss of one of the people that were being rescued would have a huge impact on the moral of the Konoha shinobi.

Just as Naruto neared the downed blonde, a huge blade appeared in front of him and in a cascade of sparks it was stopped by the small kunai that Kakashi wielded. "Protect Ino, Naruto!" Kakashi roared as he pushed the large sword back and the two vanished in a burst of speed.

Steeling himself, Naruto hurried to Ino and let out a loud roar of challenge when he saw the black trench-coat man near the girl. The scream caused the man to look at Naruto and that gave the blonde enough time to get to Ino. His mind burned as he thought about his options. He couldn't take her and run as he would never be able to outrun his enemy and he had released his gravity seal back when he left Konoha, so he was already going his top speed.

He could always fight the enemy but Naruto didn't know how strong the man was and to attack without said knowledge could only be done with extreme care and caution. That left him with only one option, defend.

Naruto took a step over Ino so that she was straddled between his legs and fell into a Tetsu Sheru stance that was used in the seventh kata. Yuri had called the specific kata, Gisei Sutansu and Naruto hadn't understood why it was called the 'sacrificial stance' until he learned its purpose.

The trench-coat man tilted his head and questioned, "You would die to protect her?"

"I am Naruto Uzumaki, a shinobi of Konoha," Naruto growled. "I don't abandon my comrades, even if it means my life."

The man nodded slowly. "Katsutoshi Nagashi, your death."

Naruto kept his eyes on the man as he pulled a sword from his trench-coat and the blonde forced his rapid breathing to slow. Panic would only get him killed. The man swung his sword once and then vanished from the blonde's sight. He focused on his shell of awareness and kept his eyes moving. The key to the Tetsu Sheru was using all the senses the body had to offer and then react when something broke into the shell that the user created around them.

The seventh kata was unique in that it was designed to defend against stronger, faster shinobi and was ideally used in the defense of a downed ally. Unlike other katas, this one expanded the shell of awareness and because of that it was a massive strain on the users mental abilities. Naruto felt something enter his shell in front of him and his body moved in reflex, his arms moved to knock the blade of the katana off course and his body rotated. He felt the blade rip into his flesh and when the blade pulled away he was left with a ghastly cut on his right shoulder. The Gisei Sutansu didn't block attacks but diverted them to hit less critical areas so, in a sense, the practitioner sacrificed their own body to protect their charge as long a possible.

"You diverted my attack," Katsutoshi muttered. "Interesting."

Naruto defended Ino with everything he had and he knew that his opponent was doing his all to end the blonde's life. Naruto guessed that the man was about mid-Chunin but that knowledge didn't stop the sword from biting into his flesh. His arms and body were in near constant motion and red lines appeared along Naruto's body in his desperate struggle to save Ino. Blood started to flow down his limbs and he pushed as much of the pain out of mind that he could.

The trench-coated man appeared in front of Naruto in a display of speed and the sword was in mid-swing. Naruto's mind raced as he evaluated his options and his body acted even before he could solidify what he was going to do. The blonde rotated his body, bent his front leg, and reached down to grab Ino. The sword hit him in the chest and just as it did he pushed with his front leg to lessen the blow and he felt the blade roll along the steel plates in his leather jerkin. The katana cut through his armor at mid-swing and he growled when the steel ripped into his chest.

The force of the attack sent Naruto sliding along the ground and he dragged Ino with him as he held onto her body. He stopped and was immediately back into his taijutsu stance. Blood poured from the massive cut on his chest and he knew that the sword had ground against several of his ribs. He turned his mind from the wound and forced it to focus on the battle. The chest was only flesh with all the important stuff protected by the rib-cage. He was in little danger from the wound since the steel blade had clearly not gotten past his bones but it had cracked them and he made his body take in air even as his ribs roared in protest.

"Naruto!"

The blonde took a chance and glanced back to see the other Genin fighting what appeared to be copies of the enemy shinobi with bandages on his face. They appeared to be hard pressed but Sasuke came leaping high over the battle and unleashed a fire-ball toward Naruto.

The fireball shot over the blonde's head and crashed into the ground, causing the trench-coated man to back off. Naruto, finally getting a small bit of breathing room, crossed his fingers and called, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Several clouds of white smoke appeared and one of the clones snatched Ino up from the ground. Four of the ten clones that Naruto made rushed back to help the other Genin and three worked to keep Ino safe as they took her to where Asuma and Shikamaru were. Naruto nodded his thanks to the Uchiha who rushed to his side and fell into his classic Interceptor stance.

"You look like shit, Naruto," the boy commented.

Naruto grinned and shot back, "Bite me."

Katsutoshi appeared in front of them and said, "Another? No matter, you will both die soon enough."

Sasuke didn't reply but rushed the man. He weaved around the sword with such fluidity and skill that it looked like he was dodging before the opponent was even moving but for all his skill and determination the boy was being pushed to his extremes and many of the attacks were far too close for comfort.

Naruto sent his remain clones around Sasuke to flank while he jumped over the boy and sent a sharp strike toward his enemies head. The man blocked it but in doing so allowed Sasuke and two of Naruto's clones to land solid hits. He staggered and wasn't able to block the heavy upward attack that the blonde sent at him when he landed. Katsutoshi went sliding across the ground and rubbed his chest when he regained control of his slide.

Just when the two Genin were going to press their advantage several senbon shot out from the forest, stopping any attack they could press. Naruto looked up to see Yuri come flying backwards out of the canopy sending kunai at his unseen attackers. He turned in the air and, to Naruto's horror he was caught on the large blade of the bandaged man.

It appeared that Kakashi had been pressured from both the masked man and the woman when Kurenai was forced to give a moments aid to the Genin.

It all happened in slow motion for Naruto. The bandaged man raised his sword with an ease and simplicity that it was almost mocking and Yuri, the man who Naruto had come to look up to, didn't have the time to avoid it. The massive blade ripped into his stomach and exploded out of his back. He became wedged in the middle of the sword and blood poured down the blade and onto the ground.

Everything seemed to stop at that moment. Two people, the smiling man and another person who wore a white mask with strange red markings, came from the forest and landed near the masked man.

Naruto couldn't speak. All he could do was watch as the man who changed his life cough up blood onto the steel of the large blade that skewered him.

"That's one," the man muttered loudly

Yuri shakily raised his hand and placed it on the sword. He pulled at it slightly and then collapsed with a final gasp.

-A Testament of Things that Never Will-

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-Unbiased Abyss