Akuma no Buntai: Kitsune, Ryu, Tanuki

by 7th Creature

Treated like trash as kids, three ninja will rise up to become the most merciless, dark legends in all of the Five Great Countries. Leading their team is one of the most feared Shinobi of all Hi no Kuni.

3. Job

Haruno Clan Residence…Six Years Later

Amaya walked to her house with a grin plastered on her face. Her father would be so proud to hear that she was going on a C-Ranked mission when she only just got out of the Ninja Gakko two weeks ago. With the mission also came her first time out of the village. Even better, Ino would totally flip when she finds out that she went out of the village for a few days alone with Sasuke-kun. Sure, there was their client, their other teammate and sensei but that didn't matter to Amaya.

Amaya entered her house and her grin faltered. Keiko was reading to her younger sister. Hitomi's hair had grown and over the years, they all realized she had the same hair style that Sakura used to have. Her eyes were still that emerald green that captivated Keiko and sometimes Amaya. Haiiro didn't like the fact that she looked too much like Sakura and that Keiko seemed to like her more than Amaya.

Both females looked at Amaya when the door closed. "Hello, Nee-chan." Hitomi was the first to greet her. Amaya waved her off as she sat down by her mother. "Hey, Sweetie. How were the missions?" Keiko asked, marking the page of the book then shutting it. "They were boring as always. But guess what, we got assigned a C-Rank mission. Isn't that great? That just means that I'm on my way to becoming our clan's leader." Amaya announced with a grin. "That's great, honey. I'm proud of you." And Keiko was. It was just that she still thought as Sakura being better than Amaya. She still held onto that moment they had six years ago. "I'm proud," Keiko whispered as she watched Amaya walk up to her room.

"Kaa-san, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" Hitomi asked standing up from the floor and sitting down by her mother. Keiko wiped her tears away before smiling at her daughter. "Nothing, Hitomi-chan. I'm just happy for your sister. Come on, let's go make dinner." Keiko offered as she stood up. Hitomi nodded her head and followed her mother into the kitchen. However, she wasn't convinced by that smile of hers. She knew something was wrong but she wasn't going to butt in. It wasn't her place to.

Kitsune, Ryuu, Tanuki…That Night

Lightning crashed above Nami no Kuni as a deadly deal was made. Three figures in black cloaks exited a building deep in the forest of Nami no Kuni. The plan was simple, watch over the Oni Kyodai as they kill the bridge builder and his charges. If the Oni Kyodai are defeated, retreat and meet up with Momochi Zabuza and his partner Haku. There, they are to get into place and kill the bridge builder.

The three figures walked to a nearby campsite, where they had set up camp a few hours ago. As they neared the fire, masks were visible on their faces. One had a Tanuki in brown and maroon at the bottom of the mask. The other had a red and black dragon imprint at the top of the mask with its tail going around the left eye hole. The last one had an orange and black fox with nine tails, two of those tails wrapping around both eye holes.

"Gato is up to something. No one can be that rich with only one shipping company." The one with the Tanuki mask said as they arrived at the camp. His voice was deep, something most boys acquired when they become men. "You're right, Tanuki. Something's up and we're going to find out." The one with the dragon mask said as they put out the fire. Judging by the timbre of the voice, it was a girl. "How are we going to do that, Ryu? Gato is not going to talk and I doubt any of his 'assistants' know." The last one said crossing his arms. This one's voice was raspy but it wasn't any lighter than Tanuki's. Ryu seemed to nod then turned to face the horizon. "Don't worry, Kitsune, we'll find out tomorrow."

Team Seven…..Next Morning

Team Seven was heading towards Nami no Kuni with their client in formation. A boy with dark, almost navy hair in a weird style was in the front with another boy that had brown spiky hair. In the middle, Amaya was walking alongside the team's client. It was a bridge builder named Tazuna, who always seemed to have a sake bottle with him. At the back was the team's Jonin sensei. He had silver hair spiked up to the left and a mask covering the lower half of his face. His Hitaiate was tilted to the side, covering his left eye.

They walked in silence, occasionally hearing Tazuna take a swing full of sake. Amaya's eyes landed on her teammate's back. 'Sasuke-kun is so cool. I can't wait to tell him I love him and marry him. I'll make him all mine. Nothing can stand in the way of our relationship. Well, there's Ino and Kota.' Amaya looked at the boy by Sasuke. 'Kota just has a crush on me and I understand that. I mean, who wouldn't? But I'm not interested in him so that takes him out. Ino was placed in another team and Sasuke-kun is in mine, meaning I have a higher percentage of getting him. Also, I'm the heir of the Haruno clan, I'm in way better status than Ino and Sasuke-kun knows that. This means I'm the only one for him. However, because we're teammates, Kakashi-sensei might not let us be together. Oh my god, I cannot let that happen! I will triumph in winning Sasuke-kun's heart no matter what!'

While Amaya was paying attention to things that will probably never happen, Kakashi was paying attention to a puddle they had just passed by. In the trees, Ryu, Kitsune and Tanuki were watching the scene. Ryu scoffed loudly, letting her teammates know that the Oni Kyodai made a huge mistake.

Two figures came out of the puddle as one handed a glove to the other. A chain connected the gloves together as spikes came out at each end. They ran towards the team, wrapping the chains around Kakashi in the process. They pulled and Kakashi fell to the ground in pieces. The Genin's eyes widened as they watched their teacher fall right in front of their eyes. Sasuke was the first one to snap out of it and pinned one of the brothers down on the ground. Kota recovered and went to fight against the other brother using his Kenjutsu knowledge. Amaya shook her head to snap out of it as she stood in front of Tazuna with kunai in each of her hands. One of the brothers knocked Kota down and went after Amaya and Tazuna. Kota made to go after him but he relaxed when he saw Kakashi appear and stop the man. He knocked him out then turned around when Sasuke threw the other over his shoulder at him. Kakashi grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pinned him to a tree along with his brother. Kakashi tied them to a tree then turned to Tazuna.

"They're known as the Oni Kyodai, two Chunin who don't stop fighting until their opponent is down." Kakashi explained as he turned to them. "How did you know we were here?" The conscious one asked as he struggled to free himself. "A single puddle on a road where it hasn't rained in days? It was your first mistake."

"If you knew they were there, why didn't you take them out before they attacked me- I mean, you?" Tazuna asked, covering up for his mistake. However, everyone heard it and began to suspect. "I needed to see if they were after us ninja or after you." Kakashi simply said before turning to his team. "Good job, you three." Kota and Amaya grinned at him while Sasuke scoffed and looked away.

"What do you mean?" Tazuna asked as he looked between the team and Chunin. "They wanted to get rid of us to get to you. Do you mind explaining why?" Kakashi turned back to the bridge builder, who gulped. He soon sighed, giving up under the Jonin's stare. "You're right, they're after me. Gato hired them to assassinate me."

"Gato? Who's that?" Kota asked being the curious boy he is. "You've probably heard his name before. He owns one of the most successful shipping companies in the world. But that's just his cover up. He's secretly an illegal drug dealer and criminal. He robs people of their money by tricking them and when they find out, he sends bandits or Nukenin to do the dirty job for him. Recently, he's had his eyes on Nami no Kuni and decided he wanted to take over our country. He's taken up ownership or closed all of our shipping expresses. Our country is very poor at the moment. The only solution for us to be able to free ourselves from Gato is to build a bridge and I was entrusted with the job." Tazuna explained hanging his head. "He wants your head." Sasuke muttered as the other two Genin stood there, shocked. "Why didn't you hire a team of Jonin to help instead of us?" Kakashi asked, already knowing the answer but wanted the man to confirm it.

"As I told you, my country is very poor. I couldn't afford anything higher than this." Tazuna said as he looked at each and every one of their faces. "Kakashi-sensei, this mission is beyond our level. We shouldn't do this." Kota said looking up at his sensei. "You're right, Kota. We're not up to this mission. We should head back." Kakashi said, turning his body in the direction of Konoha.

"Fucking wimps," Kitsune mumbled from the trees as he watched the scene below. Ryu nudged him in the ribs but she couldn't agree more on his comment.

"What?" Sasuke and Amaya asked, turning to their sensei. "We can't leave. I will humiliate my father if the clan finds out I chickened out of a mission." Amaya said glaring at her sensei. "This is a chance to test my skills against real danger. I will not back out." Sasuke muttered with a glare and crossing of his arms. "Yeah and then my daughter will cry her eyes out and hate the Konoha ninja while my cute ten year old grandson will blame the village for leaving his grandfather alone to die." Tazuna jumped in, taking advantage of the situation. Everyone other than him sweat dropped, even the three in the trees. "Ass kisser," Kitsune commented, only to get another nudge on the ribs.

'That was very unnecessary. Amaya and Sasuke had convinced me. I guess I have no choice.' Kakashi thought with a sigh. "Fine, we'll guard you safely to your house. Let's go." They started walking, Kakashi glancing over at the trees where the three are hiding behind. 'It won't be Chunin next time but rather higher ranked ninja. You better keep an eye out, you three.'

Nami no Kuni…Two Hours Later

A man was waiting behind some trees for Team Seven to walk by. You could say that he was bored to the core. He sat on his Kubikiri Hocho as he waited. 'Where in the hell are those brats? They were supposed to report back a while ago.' Just as he thought this, three figures appeared behind him. "Zabuza," Tanuki spoke, startling the Nukenin. "I hate it when you three do that," Zabuza muttered under his breath as he stood up to face them. "Reporting, Oni Kyodai failed and the Konoha team are on their way here. They've taken a boat ride here, we're certain they'll come this way." Ryu reported as Zabuza grabbed his blade. "So they're strong enough to defeat those weaklings, huh? Good, I'll be having a good time. Do you know who is leading the team?" Zabuza asked looking in the direction the bridge was at.

"It is Konohagakure's Sharingan no Kakashi. He's with a team of Rookie Genin. We believe they are Uchiha Sasuke, Haruno Amaya and Kamizuki Kota. The Uchiha is at level Genin on Taijutsu, we're not sure about Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. He doesn't seem like he's obtained the Sharingan eye. The Haruno didn't show any particular skill. The Kamizuki is exceptional at Taijutsu but he didn't show any other special abilities." Ryu informed standing by Zabuza. "Hatake Kakashi is strong; don't go overboard like last time. He even sensed us when we were hiding." She told him, placing her hands on her hips.

"Then again, we weren't even trying to conceal ourselves." Kitsune commented, receiving three nods. "This Haruno Amaya girl, she's not related to you, is she?" Zabuza asked looking down at Ryu. She turned her back on him as she walked over to her teammates. "We've also discovered that Gato is lying. He's a drug dealer, not a shipping company owner." She looked over her shoulder at Zabuza. He looked at her, unsure of what her reaction is due to the mask covering her face. "You know how we work and I know how you do your job. We won't help you but rather we're enemies now." She told him, turning her back again. "Of course, after all, you are the Akuma no Buntai." Zabuza turned his back on her, confident that they won't hurt him. After all, they've all been partners for about two years now and got along well. They were comrades, even if they didn't say it out loud.

Their moment was interrupted when Team Seven walked by with Tazuna. When they found the white rabbit, Zabuza turned to the team behind him. "Wish me luck," He threw his blade at the team. "'Luck," Tanuki muttered crossing his arms. Zabuza grinned at them under the bandages covering his mouth and jumped down, landing on his Kubikiri Hocho.

"Momochi Zabuza, Nukenin of Kirigakure no Sato and former Kiri no Shinobigatana no Shichininshu, to believe you've stooped this low." Kakashi muttered as he grabbed his Hitaiate. "Formation S, guys. This guy is too dangerous for you to take on." Kakashi ordered his Genin team. 'Hmph, this is a waste of time.' Zabuza thought as he grabbed the tilt of his sword and disappeared. "Kirigakure no Jutsu," Zabuza's voice echoed throughout the forest. Amaya, Kota and Sasuke formed a circle around Tazuna as they took out their weapons.

The team hiding behind the trees noticed that Sasuke and Amaya were panting, as if being choked. "They've never been in a real battle between Jonin. It's killing them," Tanuki announced as they watched the fight. They were paying attention to the fight, knowing that Zabuza wouldn't hurt them unless they stood in the way of killing them. "Should we help them?" Kitsune asked looking at Ryu. Tanuki looked at them, waiting for her reply. "Wait for it. We attack when Zabuza shows up." Ryu whispered to them as Zabuza began listing the vital spots in the human body. "And knowing Zabuza, he'll go for the fastest kill."

"The Genin," Kitsune muttered with a nod. "And the weakest point of that formation is…" Ryu trailed off, wanting them to answer that. "Middle," The males answered at the same time. No later than that, Zabuza appeared in the middle of the circle, right in front of Tazuna. "It's over," Zabuza muttered as he got ready to swing down on Amaya.

The sound of metal hitting metal was heard as the Genin and Tazuna were blown back by sand. Tanuki landed in front of Amaya with his arms crossed. Ryu and Kitsune were holding up Zabuza's sword with their own katana. "I was starting to think you guys had left," Zabuza countered as he pushed on his sword then swung at Kitsune's side. Ryu acted quickly as she blocked his hit with her katana. Kitsune then swung at Zabuza's side. Zabuza pushed on his sword again then leaned back to avoid Kitsune's hit. Kitsune crouched down and did a leg swipe, almost knocking Zabuza off his feet from the sheer speed they were using.

Zabuza flipped back but didn't have any time to breathe as a bunch of sand went flying towards him. Before he ducked, he saw Tanuki with one of his arms outstretched. "We're not missing a fight, not a good one." Kitsune answered as the katana he was using poofed off into none existence. Ryu held hers backwards as it poofed off, too. "Zabuza, you have one warning. Don't mess with the kids. Your fight now is with Kakashi, not them." Ryu said as Kitsune and she stood in front of Sasuke and Kota. Zabuza chuckled, holding his cleaver on his shoulder. "Good, I don't want any brats interrupting me." Zabuza answered, mocking them.

"Don't worry, they won't." Tanuki assured as the sand that had been after Zabuza went over to his side and stayed swirling around him. Team Seven was amazed at the new team and confused as to what was going on. Sasuke was the first one to his feet and began charging at Zabuza, determined not to let anyone else outdo him. The sand swirling around Tanuki shot out towards Sasuke, pinning him down before he even got close to Kitsune's back. "Stay," Tanuki ordered as he turned to Zabuza and nodded. Zabuza nodded his head at them before turning to Kakashi and into a fighting stance. Confused, Kakashi lifted his headband to reveal the Sharingan eye, a scar running down his eye. Sasuke saw it and gasped. Amaya seemed confused as to why Kakashi had it and Kota was simply lost.

"Nice but Itachi-sensei would still have an upper hand. He has the Mangekyou, Amaterasu and Tsukyomi." Kitsune muttered, only Ryu and Tanuki hearing him. "Heh, finally, I get to have some fun. These kids are boring to play with," Zabuza chuckled, pointing behind him. "I really hope you're not talking about us," Kitsune said, crossing his arms. "Of course not, I would ever," Zabuza muttered, rolling his eyes. Everyone heard Kitsune growl and thought he was going to attack but he stayed standing in front of the still pinned Sasuke.

Soon after they begin fighting, Zabuza traps Kakashi in his Suiro no Jutsu. "Guess it's our turn," Kitsune mutters as he nodded at Ryu. "Tanuki, protect the brats and bridge builder. Kitsune and I are going to fight him." Ryu ordered and Tanuki nodded.

Their katana poofed in their hands again as they took in fighting stances. Ryu had her katana backwards while Kitsune was holding his normally. Zabuza made two Mizu Bushin to fight them. Kitsune and Ryu ran at them at blinding speeds as Ryu raised her katana and slashed down on the Mizu Bushin's shoulder, dispelling it into water. Kitsune slashed his katana upwards and cut the Bushin diagonally by the midsection. He jumped up to catch Zabuza in the air in case he jumped while Sakura kept running at him.

In the meantime, all everyone else could see, besides Kakashi because of the Sharingan, were blurs of black and two bursts of water. Kitsune was closer to Zabuza so he swung down on him. Zabuza grabbed his wrist and threw him over his shoulder. However, he wasn't fast enough to avoid Ryu's slash at the midsection. Kitsune landed on top of the water as Ryu ran over to his side. Zabuza had let go of the Suiro no Jutsu and Kakashi had landed by them. Kitsune and Ryu poofed away their katana as they turned to Kakashi. "It's you fight again. We have no intention in fighting him, we want you guys to leave with Tazuna sooner rather than later." Ryu told him. "What do you mean?" Kakashi asked as he panted for air.

"We're friends with Zabuza, meaning we know each other's weaknesses and strengths. It'll take hours if we fight him seriously. Besides, you have hundreds if not thousands of jutsu in your arsenal. You'll be able to surprise him." Kitsune said as the two jumped over to the shore, where they protected Team Seven and the bridge builder. "So that's your final decision, huh? Fine," Zabuza turned to Kakashi and they started battling again.

This time, Kakashi won by making Zabuza think he was reading his mind. Before Kakashi could make the final move, however, two senbon embedded themselves in Zabuza's neck. Everyone looked towards the direction where the weapon came and saw a boy with a kimono and a mask. 'Are they together?' Kakashi thought as he glanced at the Oinin then at the team of masked ninja. "Thank you for disabling Zabuza. I've been hunting him for quite a while, you see." The Oinin said as he disappeared then appeared by Zabuza's body. "I must take the body now. Thank you, Konoha ninja. It was also nice to see you again, Naruto-kun, Gaara-kun, Sakura-chan. I'll be taking my leave now."

"We'll see you later, Haku. Count on it." Ryu, or rather Sakura, said nodding at him. Haku nodded back at her as he took a hold of Zabuza's arm and disappeared with him. She turned to her teammates and nodded. They disappeared before anyone else could say anything. "That was very weird." Kota commented with a shake of head. Amaya stood staring at the place where Sakura used to be standing on. 'It can't be her. Sakura's dead, the Hokage himself said so.' Amaya shook her head with a sigh. 'I probably just misheard the name. Yeah, that's it. It was a mistake.'

With that, the group left towards Zabuza's house.

Kitsune, Ryuu, Tanuki….

The three arrived at their campsite as soon as they left Team Seven. They took off their masks and cloaks. Over the past six years, the three have grown into full-fledged Shinobi. Gaara was the shortest but that was understandable because he was the youngest. His hair was the same, only a little longer as it covered most of his forehead. On the left side of his forehead was the kanji for 'Love', as that was the place where all the sand had hit him the night he was announced dead. Nothing much had changed about him but his attire was completely different to the garbs he had when he was younger. He wore a maroon jacket with black gloves and maroon ninja pants with black ninja sandals. He had a weapon belt, where two traveling packs were hanging from with two kunai pouches. An Amegakure Hitaiate was tied to his left upper arm.

Naruto had gone through a drastic change. His hair had grown out in all ways and bangs had started forming at the side of his face. His eyes were darker with a lighter shade around the pupil. His whisker-like marks were thicker, something he got from the Kyuubi as he had learned to control his Katagawa no Jotai. He has an orange shirt with a fishnet with long sleeves that reached down to his elbows under. He wore black ninja pants and black ninja boots. He also wore black fingerless gloves. Tape strapped his ninja pants to his boots so they wouldn't flail while he was jumping from tree to tree. He had a weapon belt similar to Gaara's. However, he had four traveling packs and one kunai pouch. Another kunai pouch was strapped to his right thigh. A sheathed katana was strapped to his back. An Amegakure Hitaiate was tied around his forehead.

Sakura had also gone through some changes. Her pink hair was down to her middle back as an Amegakure Hitaiate held her bangs from her face. Her eyes had taken on a darker colour, however what caught almost everyone's attention was the fact that the shade around the pupil had taken a crystal blue colour. No one had any idea what had happened and neither does she but they weren't complaining. She had a red tank top with a long sleeve fishnet that reached to her wrists under. A black skirt covered her until her mid thighs and under the skirt was another pair of fishnet clothing that reached into her black shin length boots and to her ankles. Covering her hands was a pair of black gloves with fingers that covered her knuckles but weren't quite closed like Gaara's. She had a weapons belt, too. Like Naruto's, she had four traveling packs and one kunai pouch. Another shuriken and kunai pouch was strapped to her right thigh. A sheathed katana was strapped to her right hip.

They slowly began to make camp again, not lighting a fire in case any of Gato's thugs went after them. News of Zabuza's failure was sure to reach him in a few hours. And with that came their betrayal. However, they knew that neither Zabuza nor Haku were going to give them away, especially since the three could beat them, even if it would take hours of fighting. Sakura and Naruto had more tricks up their sleeves than all of the books themselves. And with Gaara's Zettai Bogyo, they were sure to have more chances of winning than the two.

"What's the plan, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as they sat down in the middle of their camp. "By now, Gato has to know of our betrayal. Zabuza will be immobile for the next week or so. Also, now knowing what kind of man Gato is, we can't risk trusting him. Because of our betrayal, he'll probably be thinking that we left with Tazuna and are protecting him at the moment. That's why I didn't want to leave with them. We have a chance of killing him, but also helping Zabuza and protecting the bridge builder." Sakura said as she looked at the two of them for their approval. She knew they were always going to be with her but she needed them to know that she will always take their opinions in consideration.

"Okay. What do you have in mind?" Gaara asked as he leaned back to support himself with his hands behind him. Naruto laid down, putting his hands behind his head as he looked at the sun but also paid attention to his teammates. Seeing their relaxed positions, Sakura leaned back, her backpack supporting her weight. "Go in, kill Gato and take his money. We'll go see Zabuza in the morning then go to the Konoha team to relieve them of their pressure. We'll leave to Ame after that." Sakura explained as she looked at the sky. Silence followed as the other two sunk in their plan. There were a few loopholes they found in the plan but they knew Sakura had them covered. However, it didn't hurt to know.

"What about the mission? Gato was the one who hired us, won't Pein-sama flip if he finds out we went against his orders?" Naruto asked looking at her. "The specific orders Pein-sama gave us was to gather money. If we kill Gato and recover at least half of his money, then we would've accomplished his orders. Besides, Amegakure knows how we work. They'll understand."

"What about the Konoha ninja? What if they ask us about what happened or who we are?" Gaara asked digging into one of his traveling packs. "We'll bring Gato's head if they don't believe us. As for our identities, they'll have to go to Hell and back if they want to know." Sakura muttered, glaring at the sky. "That's your sister, huh?" Naruto asked, catching up on why she hated the Konoha team so bad. They've ran into teams from Konohagakure and have had to make contact with them but Sakura had never foul-mouthed them behind their backs. Whatever she had to say, she would say it in front of them and she wouldn't care what they thought or said.

"Yeah," Sakura answered as she rubbed her temples. This mission is turning out to be more of a drag than anything else. Then again, this is nothing compared to some missions they've had to go on with Itachi or other Akatsuki members. Once, they've had to recruit a Nukenin from Iwagakure and it turned out that he wouldn't go with them so easily. They had to fight him and three squads of Iwa Anbu to get to him. To top it off, there were two A-ranked ninja in those squads and the Nukenin alone was an S-rank. It was good that Itachi and another member were there, or else they would've been killed in minutes. That was two years ago, though, so they could understand their weak states. Naruto and Sakura were still eleven year olds while Gaara was ten. They were still being trained by Itachi.

Now, they trained on their own with an occasional helping hand from one of the members. They especially went to Kakuzu for Chakra Nature exercises. Basically, Akatsuki was their home now and they wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. They had also found out that Pein's beginning plan for Akatsuki was to get all nine Bijuu and use them to restore peace in the world. The three had found many loopholes in that plan and they had discussed them with him. Now that that plan was out of the way, they would occasionally meet up twice a month to come up with plans to restore peace and make everything fair in the world.

For now, however, everything was to go as normal: taking on missions, training and the occasional sparring sessions between Akatsuki Members.

In the Akatsuki, there were twelve members, including them. Each was divided into teams. There was the Tengoku no Chimu which consisted of Pein and Konan. They took care of Amegakure and didn't go out into missions unless it was absolutely necessary. There was the Fosuchimu ni Hantai, which were Itachi and Kisame. They were the strongest of the group, second to Konan and Pein. They usually did most of the dangerous missions or went out to hunt for some bounty. Then there was the Bauntifosuchimu, Hidan and Kakuzu's team. They usually went out for bounties on criminal's heads, trying to stop the criminals in the cities. Then there was the Geijutsu-Tekina Chimu, which consisted of Deidara and Sasori. Although no one has ever said anything along the lines, they were the weakest team in the group. They usually were sent to missions that had to do with long-range attacks or aerial scouting missions. Last but not least were them, Akuma no Buntai. Because they were Akatsuki's 'secret weapon', they wore masks and didn't wear their cloaks on missions. However, the masks are there because of the fact that they were announced dead one year after them running away, with the exception of Gaara, who was thought killed by his uncle Yashamaru the night he left with Itachi, Naruto and Sakura.

However, now that the Chunin exams were only two weeks away, the kids had decided to take a break until Gato had demanded their services. Pein had told them to get as much money out of this mission as possible for the upcoming expenses for the Chunin Exam. Now that they were here, they were going to get out of this mission the dirty way. Besides, it would be the best outcome. If Kakashi contacts Konoha and orders for a group of Jonin to come, they will get rid of Gato. And Gato isn't stupid enough to stick around when multiple Jonin are here. Although that means that Nami will be able to finish their bridge, it didn't mean that the danger was over. Gato could come back with a vengeance and decide to make best of the money Nami is earning. The kids won't have that. It would better to kill off all of Gato's hires, kill Gato himself, and give Tazuna some money to build the bridge and start off the trading routes then give Zabuza double the pay Gato had offered him. It left the kids with a huge amount of money for Ame, judging by how much Gato seemed to have. And the best of all is that no one would give a shit about what happens to Gato or his followers.

A rustling brought Sakura out of her thoughts. She glanced at Naruto and Gaara. Naruto was holding a Fuinjutsu paper near Gaara exposed neck. He slapped the paper down on his neck quickly, bit his thumb and drew a line of blood over the seal. Gaara blinked, having gotten used to the pain over the years. Gaara's eyes soon began to close as Naruto laid him down in his sleeping bag. Naruto put a blanket over him and fixed him up so he could sleep peacefully. The blonde sighed in relief as he looked over his younger brother.

Naruto then sat down by Sakura and wrapped his arm around her waist, bringing her closer. "You care too much," Sakura mumbled laying her head down on his shoulder. "I have to look after you guys. You're my family," Naruto muttered laying his head on hers. Sakura reached up and ran her fingers through his hair, making him purr in ecstasy. They stayed liked that for a few minutes, the only sound being Naruto's purring. Sakura stopped, too soon for Naruto's liking, and stood up. "We need to get some rest. We'll let Bunshins as guards in case some of Gato's men come to look for us." Sakura ordered as Naruto stood up. He made a cross sign with his hands and muttered, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu." Five clones came to life as they all looked at the original and their leader. "Surround the perimeter of our camp. Wake us up after midnight. Go," Sakura ordered and the five clones disappeared to different directions.

With them in place, Naruto and Sakura went to sleep.

After Midnight

Sakura was woken up by one of Naruto's clones as it shook her shoulders. She looked at it with sleepy eyes before closing them and sighing. The clone shook her shoulders again, resulting in annoying her and her punching it square in the face. "Damn clone," she muttered, sitting up and rubbing her eyes when she heard a poof. She looked over the camp then stood up, kicking Naruto's back in the process. The blonde mumbled something indecent under his breath before turning to her, still sleeping. Sakura rolled her eyes before packing up her sleeping bag and looking around the camp. Gaara was still sleeping and she could feel the clones' chakra signatures not too far from here.

Sakura turned back to Naruto and kicked him in the ribs, receiving a string of curses and swears. To think that having few family figures would help him with his grammar and words. "Get up, Baka, we're leaving." Sakura said kicking his ribs again. Naruto groaned then sat up, rubbing his eyes. He looked around the camp before resting his eyes on Sakura. Sighing, he made a hand sign and muttered the word, "Kai." Gaara's breathing became laboured as his body tensed. He sat up quickly, panting as he looked around the place. His eyes softened when he looked at the worried stares of his teammates. Shaking his head, Gaara stood up and began cleaning up his stuff along with Naruto. In the meantime, the clones reported back to Sakura. When the two were done, Sakura gave them each an energy bar. They put on their cloaks and masks then nodded at each other.

They quickly filed out, moving in fast sprints as they set out to Gato's hideout. As they neared, adrenaline bumped into their bodies. They knew they would be making many kills tonight, one including a big man in the shipping world. However, they didn't worry about the man's status but rather how much money and blood they would have on their hands when this was all over. They would leave the bandits alone but knowing criminal minds, they knew the bandits were not going to stop until they are paid in one way or another. They might take advantage of Nami without protection and send out an already won war on the small island. If killing the bandits meant peace for these guys, then they'll do just that.

They neared the gates to the compound and hid under some bushes. "Now, we're going after Gato's head first. We already know what room he's in so we're going straight to that one. We'll kill everyone else as we come out." Sakura ordered as she looked out from behind the bush and to their destination. They understood her plan well. If they start out by killing everyone from outside to the inside, it might alert Gato and have him ready for them. However, if they go from inside to the outside, they have a bigger chance of not being detected and thus leading them to launch surprise attacks on a lot of bandits and guards.

"His room is the last one at the very end of the west wing. Once we're in and he's dead, I will take on the rest of the west wing, Gaara will take out the east wing and Naruto will take on the north wing. We'll meet at the south wing ten minutes after we start and get rid of everyone else there. Is everything clear?" Sakura explained looking at both of them. They nodded at her and got ready to sprint. Sakura laid her eyes on the gates as she crouched down. "Go," She muttered as she sprinted, the other two following her. They rounded up the gates to the left side and jumped over them, quickly disposing of the guards there silently. Gaara had thrown a kunai to one's throat while Naruto had stabbed one in the chest. They quickly ran up the wall silently, using chakra to stick to the stones.

Sakura opened a window and looked in, seeing three bandits guarding Gato's door. She took out three kunai and threw them at them. Two were fatal but she missed the last one's throat because he had moved. Cursing under her breath, Sakura jumped in and threw a shuriken at him. The shuriken hit the man's throat, making it a fatal hit. Sighing in relief, Sakura motioned for Naruto and Gaara to get in. They slowly opened the door to Gato's room. They stopped as soon as they laid eyes on the room layout. It seemed like a simple room, which was something good in case Gato needed to make a move quick. However, the only things that didn't make this room 'simple' were the stacks of money by Gato's bed and the ten safe boxes. Recovering from their shock, the three moved in silently towards his bed. Gaara pulled at the covers slowly as Naruto and Sakura readied their katana.

Gato giggled as he rolled over while Gaara kept pulling at the blankets. Sakura nodded at Naruto as she walked over to one of the multiple safe boxes in the room. She picked the lock on it and opened it, pulling out the wads of cash in the safe. She pulled out a sealing scroll from one of the traveling packs and unrolled it, quickly drawing a few seals. Gaara went over to pick out the rest of the locks as Sakura started putting the rest of the cash in her sealing scroll. When they were halfway through the fourth safe, Gato started stirring, something disrupting his sleep. Naruto tensed and signalled the other two to stop as he watched over the older man.

Gato slowly opened his eyes and quickly realized he wasn't the only one in the room. Naruto quickly put him in a headlock and held his katana at the man's throat. "Shh, relax. You're only paying for the sins you've done." Naruto whispered in his ear as Gato began to tremble under the boy's grasp. "Please, spare me." Gato begged as he closed his eyes. "You're funny," Naruto said, ignoring his plea. He tapped the blade of his katana on Gato's neck, making the man flinch. Sakura and Gaara resumed their jobs as Naruto played with Gato for a little. "Gato, how old are you?" Naruto asked as he sat down on the bed, his grip tightening on the old man. "Forty-eight, sir, may I ask why are you asking this?" Gato asked, suddenly becoming generous. Naruto chuckled; he was used to this kind of behaviour. First, they'd demand everything as if they were the kings then they'd treat you politely when you're the one holding the knife to their throats.

"Hurry up, you two. I want to kill this guy already." Naruto whispered over to his teammates, who had finished with the last safe and were starting with the stacks of money by his bed. "Knock him out. He'll be less of a problem then," Gaara suggested as he glanced at the shipping owner then looked back at the work. Gato began squirming as soon as he heard those words. Naruto grinned as he pressed his katana against his throat even more, drawing a think line of blood. Gato whimpered as the blonde never loosened his grip on him. "No, I like to see their faces whenever I kill them." Naruto replied with sarcasm as he rolled his eyes. Gato had had enough with their attitudes and was about to scream out for his guards until Naruto sliced his head off clean with his katana. He looked at his katana as he held the man's head and the body collapsed to the group. "Ugh, spoiled blood," Naruto muttered, whipping his katana clean on the bed sheets.

"Stop being such a drama queen and seal the head in one of your scrolls. We're leaving," Sakura said as she packed the last of her scrolls into her traveling packs. Gaara stood up with her and grabbed the knob, looking back at them just as they heard a poof. Naruto had sealed Gato's head into one of his scrolls. Gaara received two nods then opened the door just as two guards entered the hallway. They looked down at the bandits on the floor then at the teenagers. Gaara cursed and held his hand out, sand leaving from inside his cloak and towards the bandits. The sand wrapped around both of them as they struggled to get out. "Sabaku Sousou," Gaara muttered as he clenched his fist. At the same time, the sand around the two guards contracted, squeezing the life out of them. "Go, get rid of everyone else." Sakura ordered as more bandits came into the hall, having heard the pained screams of the other two. Naruto disappeared in a whirlwind while Gaara left in a swirl of sand.

Sakura smirked as she faced the bandits staring her down. "Let's play, then." Her katana appeared backwards in her hand as she took an offensive stance. Two bandits charged at her, one wielding a weak looking sword and the other swinging nun-chucks at her. Sakura charged at them with a silent scoff. She ducked under the swing of the sword and slashed him in the midsection then jumped in the air to avoid the hit by the other. She landed on the man's shoulder and stabbed him in his arm socket, dislocating his arm. She proceeded to stab him in the chest before jumping off his shoulders as soon as she heard something pierce through the air. As she made a back flip, she saw an arrow make contact with the dead man's ear and he fell to the floor. She landed in front of the man that had attempted to attack her and did a leg-sweep, making him land on his back. She stabbed him in his groin, receiving a scream of pain. Smirking, she slashed upwards until she reached his lungs, cutting them clean.

With a sigh as she attempted to wipe the blood off her mask but only succeeded in making even more of a bloody mess, she moved on.

Kitsune…..

Naruto appeared on a windowsill at the eastern wing. He was outlined by shadows as he watched two guards slowly drift off to sleep. He brought out two kunai and threw them at their throats, succeeding in making their deaths quick and painless. He jumped off and walked to the end of the hall slowly, trying not to make any sound. He didn't know if the floors would squeak, given the fact that this structure was decades old and made out of wood. He looked around the corner into the rest of the wing, seeing multiple bandits and guards standing by the few closed doors.

Naruto dug into his kunai pouch and pulled out a small ball, throwing it at the bandits' feet. Everyone looked at the ball as it rolled to the middle of the wing. It suddenly exploded, covering the area with black smoke. Naruto quickly moved in as soon as he heard the men start coughing.

He grabbed a man by the neck and twisted it. He punched another in the stomach and quickly pulled out the hidden kunai he had in his cloak's sleeve as the enemy doubled over. He stabbed the man in the shoulder then in the ear. Naruto used the man's shoulders as a momentum to make him jump higher and throw kunai at the remaining bandits. They died quickly, some screaming as the pain registered in their nerve system but then were silenced by a second kunai. Naruto grinned under his mask as he walked out of the smoke calmly. He loved hearing criminals scream as they die. Knowing that they were tortured for their crimes brought a grin to Naruto's face. Karma's a bitch, right? He turned a corner, only to bump into more bandits.

"Well, come on, then." Naruto muttered as he got into an offense stance. He ran at them, his katana appearing in his hand as he swung at his opponent. His head was cut off as Naruto slashed another in the chest then moved to the right to stab another in the stomach. Naruto pushed his katana deeper into the man's gut, resulting in him screaming. He wanted to play with this man a little. While exiting the hideout after Gato had given them their mission, he had overheard the man brag to the other bandits how he had raped a girl and her best friend then killed them. Naruto didn't have any proof of it being true but he was doing a good job in helping Nami whether the man had done it or not. The blonde twisted the blade, moving the man's insides along with it. The man screamed as he grabbed onto Naruto's shoulders, holding onto dear life. Naruto didn't see the knife coming until he felt a sharp pain go up his spine. He pulled out his katana from the man's stomach and pushed him away. He reached back and pulled out the knife from his shoulder blade. Grunting in displeasure, Naruto bent down and stabbed the man in his left eye with his own knife then resumed his mission.

Tanuki…..

Gaara arrived at the west wing soon after the order was given. He looked around as there were no guards here. He slowly walked towards the end of the hall. He stepped on a certain part of the floor and activated a booby-trap. The sand automatically came out of his traveling pack to protect him. At the end of the hall, he got jumped by four guards. The sand pierced through the chest of two of them as another string of sand went after the other two. Gaara clenched his fist by his side as the sand crushed them to tiny pieces. He walked into another hallway as guards turned to him. They clenched their weapons as the sand united and swirled around Gaara.

Gaara stared at them as he crossed his arms over his chest. The sand shot out at them as they charged at him. The sand wrapped around all of them as Gaara extended his right arm at them. "Sabaku Rou….Sabaku Sousou," He closed his fist as the sand squeezed them to bits and chunks of blood and meat. Gaara walked away from the scene, the sand following after him. He walked into the last hallway full of bandits. He sighed as he extended his right arm. Sand formed a katana in his hand as he gripped it tightly. He got into a defensive fighting stance as the first wave of bandits came. The first one swung a cleaver at him and he ducked, quickly slashing up at the man. He turned around to elbow another in the stomach then turned again to stab him in the chest then kicked another in the shoulder as his other hand guided the sand to pierce through the only one left standing. Gaara stabbed the man he had kicked in the head then turned to the rest as they shook in their places. "Boo," Gaara muttered, sending them all running away, screaming for mercy. Rolling his eyes, Gaara reached out with his arm as sand obeyed his every command and grabbed the men by their ankles, keeping them in place on the ground. Gaara ran at them, slashing at them on their back or chests. Only two were alive by the time he had finished. He grabbed kunai from his kunai pouch and threw them at them, the throwing knifes going at a speed in which they couldn't dodge.

With the hallway clear, Gaara went to go meet with his teammates.

Kitsune, Ryuu, Tanuki….

Gaara and Sakura waited patiently for Naruto to finish behind some crates. He suddenly appeared behind them, his hands on their shoulders. "All right, let's take the rest of them on." Naruto said as he jumped out from behind the crate, Sakura and Gaara following him after sharing a shrug. Naruto and Sakura attacked on offensive as Gaara stayed on defence, protecting them whenever they needed it, though it only happened once or twice.

After about fifteen minutes of fighting and gathering all of the bodies, Naruto threw the last body on the pile and stepped back. He nodded at Sakura, who started making hand signs. She inhaled threw her nose then placed her index, middle fingers and thumb in front of her mouth. "Katon: Goukkakyou no jutsu," She exhaled, a fireball coming out of her mouth and covering the pile of dead bodies. She stopped after she thought it was enough. They watched as the fire slowly came down until there were only ashes on the floor.

"Come on. We have to go check on Zabuza." Sakura said turning away from the pile of ashes. Gaara turned away to follow her until they heard a slight hiss. They turned to Naruto as he held his right shoulder. "What happened? You got hurt?" Sakura asked as she quickly went to check out the wound. She couldn't see anything as it was covered by the cloak. She took it off him, followed by his shirt and fishnet shirt. "It's pretty deep. I don't think Kyuubi will be able to heal it immediately." Sakura said looking over the wound. "Why didn't you tell me you got hurt?" She asked glaring at him. "I didn't think it would be that bad." Naruto answered with a grunt. He still had his mask on so they couldn't see his pain-stricken face.

"I wish I had more knowledge in the healing department. I'd be able to completely treat these. For now, however, I'll close the wound and hope Kyuubi will heal it fast." Sakura said as she placed her hands over Naruto's injury. The wound closed quickly but it still wasn't healed inside. She quickly wrapped his entire chest, making sure she didn't stare as his muscles for too long. Gaara helped him put on his clothes as Sakura put away her medical pack. "Let's go." Sakura said as soon as the boys were done.

They walked for two hours, following Naruto's enhanced smell and Sakura's slight sensor abilities. Itachi had taught them how to sense somehow else's chakra signature and it wasn't a big surprise when Sakura was the one with the best capability of it. She had the best chakra control; she could hide her chakra completely and sense someone else's without any hassle. Apparently, her abilities lie within Genjutsu, Katon, Medical Ninjutsu, and great chakra control. Naruto was the complete opposite. He was great with Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, Futon and Sealing. Gaara had the best of both worlds as he was good with Ninjutsu, although not as good with Taijutsu or Genjutsu, was great with Doton, had experience with Futon and could summon on his Bijuu.

By the time they neared Zabuza's campsite, the sun could be seen in the far off east. They landed softly in front of Haku, who was sleeping leaning against a tree. Sakura ordered Naruto to rest and Gaara to watch him as she woke up Haku. The boy groggily stared at her until his brain finally kicked into Shinobi mode. He reached for a kunai but was stopped by Sakura grabbing his hand. "We're not here to fight." Sakura reassured him, making him sigh in relief. He hadn't been ready for them to come here and he had let his guard down slightly.

"I'm going to make this quick. We killed Gato," Sakura said, shocking Haku. He hadn't thought they would go that far. "We invaded his hideout and killed him along with all of his men. We know that Zabuza was only doing this job because he was being paid and wouldn't be sold out to Kirigakure Anbu. We have a proposition. We're going to give you guys twice what Gato promised us all together and not sell you away to Kiri. But rather, we'd like for you to join Akatsuki." Sakura offered as she watched for any reactions.

"I don't know, Sakura-chan. It's all up to Zabuza-sama, not me." Haku said frowning at her. "I know. So, please, tell him when he wakes up. If you agree, meet me at the Amegakure gates in a week. Send for us, we'll tell the guards we'll be expecting you. If you don't agree, you won't show up. Here's the money and tell Zabuza he's off Gato's hands." Sakura stood up and took out a scroll from her traveling pack. She laid it out on the ground and made a hand sign, yelling out a "Kai," afterwards.

Two stacks of money appeared on the scroll. Haku held his breath, looking over the money they had gathered. This could probably sum up to five times what Gato had promised them. "Take half; the rest is for Tazuna and the Konoha team." Sakura said as she turned around and walked over to Naruto. She kneeled down by him, asking about his wound. Haku watched them interact before reaching over to get one of the stacks of money. He put it away in one of his backpacks then turned to the team. Sakura was looking over Naruto's wound while Gaara was looking around. "You'll be fine. Kyuubi's already healed most of it. I'll thoroughly check it when we go to Tazuna's house." Sakura said, reassuring Naruto. He nodded as he stood up, hissing slightly when the movement caused pain to shoot up to his shoulder.

"You want me to check it over?" Haku offered as he looked at Naruto's blood soaked cloak. He was slightly worried, however, because the three of them had blood splattered all over their cloaks. Catching on his thoughts, Gaara shook his head. "Naruto's the only one who got seriously wounded. Sakura has a few scratches here and there but nothing major. We appreciate it but we don't need your help. Kyuubi can take care of Naruto's injury." Gaara told him, making him sigh in relief.

"That and you need to look after Zabuza. Besides, we need to leave as soon as possible. We want our vacation week back," Sakura walking over to Haku. He nodded at her. They had told him everything when they had met for the mission briefing at the hideout. "All right, I'll see you next week, hopefully." Haku said extending his hand at her. Sakura grasped it and shook it. "It was great seeing you again, Haku."

"See ya' around, man."

"Bye, Haku."

"Goodbye, Gaara-kun, Naruto-kun." They exchanged goodbyes then the trio left. They ran at top speeds to get to Tazuna's house before they probably missed him. If the old man was so determined to go up against Gato, then they had no doubt that he was probably at the bridge by now. Of course, the sun just came up so he could be having breakfast at the moment. With that in mind, they sped up, intent on getting to their vacations faster.

Soon, they were in view of Tazuna's house. Sakura knew because there was one strong chakra signature coming from the house and Naruto had been able to get Kakashi and Sasuke's scent. They jumped down from the trees and onto the dirt road leading to the very few houses nearby. They walked calmly onto the small wood plank connecting the road with the house. Naruto knocked on the door then stepped back, hearing someone's footsteps heading their way. A little boy with a white and blue hat opened the door. He quickly cowered when he saw the three masked ninja. He turned around to run away, slamming the door in the process. Gaara's sand stopped the door from closing as they looked at each other. Gaara and Sakura knew Naruto wanted to burst out laughing at the reaction the kid had on his face. Gaara's sand opened the door for them all the way and let them in, closing it behind them afterwards. They followed Naruto into the dining room, where only Kakashi, Tazuna, the little boy and a woman were at. They citizens looked at them in fear while Kakashi's only visible eye narrowed on them.

The three felt the air shift behind them. Sakura turned around in time to catch Amaya's fist then held her arm behind her back, twisting her wrist in the process. Sakura then wrapped her arm around Amaya's neck tightly, holding her in place. Naruto ducked under Sasuke's punch then did a backflip to avoid the kick sent at his back. Naruto landed then disappeared, appearing behind the Uchiha a second later. Naruto grabbed him in a headlock and did a leg-sweep, dropping Sasuke on his stomach. Naruto sat on top of him, still holding him in a headlock. Gaara didn't even move as the sand wrapped around Kota's incoming foot and slammed him onto the floor in front of him and held him there.

"You consider yourselves Shinobi? Tell me you are when you sneak into your opponent's campsite and kill everyone there singlehandedly. This is no child play, you fucking twerps." Sakura growled as she held Amaya tighter. Kakashi sighed as he looked over at his team. Although he didn't like the insulting, he had to give them a point there.

"Who are you to say that? You don't know us." Sasuke yelled as he tried to stand up. "We know everything about you, Uchiha." Gaara answered looking over at him. Sasuke grunted, not believing them. 'Just to humour them,' Naruto smirked under his mask. "Uchiha Sasuke, sole survivor of the Uchiha clan who is still loyal to Konohagakure. You're thirteen years old and want to kill your older brother in revenge. I'm going to go ahead and guess that you were the Rookie of the Year. I don't know what jutsus exactly are in your arsenal but I know that your strongest is the Katon: Goukkakyou no jutsu. Your Ninjutsu and Taijutsu are exceptional for a Rookie Genin but your Genjutsu is at average. You have yet to unlock your Sharingan." Naruto said shocking everyone in the room.

"Haruno Amaya, heiress to the Haruno clan. You seem to have a crush on Sasuke here. You're not very good at Taijutsu, your Ninjutsu is average and your Genjutsu could be off the charts if you actually trained. Also, your clan disgusts me." Sakura said kicking one of Amaya's legs and pushing her, resulting in her losing her balance and falling on the floor face first. Sakura had let go of her and was now sitting on her back, enjoying every moment of it.

"The only one we don't know about is Kota here but that's because he doesn't have a name for himself yet." Gaara said nodding at Kota, who was trying to get sand out of his mouth. Kakashi sighed again. He looked at both teams. "Who are you?" He asked, tensing when the kids looked at him. "The one holding the Uchiha is Kitsune and the other one is Tanuki. I'm Ryu, the leader of the team." Sakura introduced before any of the boys could get a word in. She knew Naruto was itching to surprise the Konoha team by telling them their names, especially since her own sister was here but she wasn't going to have that. At least, not yet anyways.

"Kitsune, Tanuki and Ryu…I know you!" Kota said as he looked up at the team holding his own team down. "You do?" Amaya asked him, despite the fact that she could barely breathe. "Yeah, I overheard Nii-san talking to Kaa-san about a team helping his team out last month. Their codenames were Kitsune, Ryu and Tanuki. Nii-san said that they're Amegakure's Akuma no Buntai. You guys are them, right?" Kota asked as he looked at them. If it was them, they had saved his older brother's life. He was in big debt to them.

"Kamizuki Kota…You're Izumo's little brother?" Sakura asked looking over at the younger boy. He nodded, grinning at them. "Hmph, interesting...Nice to meet you, Kota. You're right, we're the Akuma no Buntai. It was a pleasure working with your brother." She said as she nodded over at Gaara. The sand around Kota lifted and went over to Gaara, swirling around him. Everyone watched in amazement, even Kakashi seemed surprised. While everyone was watching the sand, Sakura took out the scroll containing Tazuna's share of Gato's money. She got off Amaya and placed the scroll on the floor, bringing everyone's attention to her. She opened the scroll and did the same steps she had done when they were with Haku. A stack of money appeared on top of the scroll.

"Anyway, we didn't come here to fight or get to know each other. We came here on business, nothing more and nothing less. Tazuna, I understand that Gato is after your head, yes?" Sakura asked as she looked at the older man. "Yeah, he is." Tazuna answered, feeling all eyes on him. "Was," Naruto said as he let go of Sasuke and went to stand by his teammates. "What do you mean?" Kakashi asked with a frown.

"We killed Gato." Naruto answered with a shrug, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. The room fell silent as everyone stared at them. They didn't believe them, that was obvious. The little boy was the one to react first. "No! Gato's too strong! He can't be killed!" He yelled at them, flinching when they looked at him. "Think again, kid. We have Gato's head right here." Naruto muttered, patting his hip. "You're lying!" The kid yelled at him, shaking his head.

"Inari, stop it. Your father wouldn't want you behaving like this." The woman said as she placed her hand on her hip. "Tou-san was killed by Gato and he was the strongest man here! They'll only be killed if they try!" Inari yelled at his mother. That's when everyone got it. The kid was still mopping over his father's death. He wanted their pity, he wanted them to feel sorry for him and cower in fear. Well, they are not going to have that. "You wimp, your father dies by Gato's hand and you do nothing but cry about it? Are you so chicken that you won't do a thing to get him back? You won't help everyone else who probably went through the same thing you did? You tell everyone your sob little story so they can pity you? You're not the only one without a father. Neither of us have parents," Naruto yelled at him while pointing at Gaara and himself then pointed at Sakura, "Nor do her parents give a shit about her! But you want to know something? We stopped crying over it and became ninja! Ninja that have killed hundreds, if not thousands of people and Gato was nothing of a challenge!" Naruto yelled at him as he glared from behind the mask.

"Kitsune, you're bleeding." Gaara said looking at his shoulder. Blood was soaking the cloak. "I don't care-"

"Kitsune, stop it. That's enough." Sakura ordered as she watched tears run down Inari's eyes. Naruto growled under his breath as he took a step back and turned away. "Excuse him; he's a little touchy in the parents department." She said looking at him, though in reality, she was glaring. "Its fine," Tazuna said waving the subject off. Kakashi, however, was slightly interested in the kids' stories. "Anyway, we really did kill Gato and that's some of his money. I figured since you tricked these guys into an A-ranked mission, you'd give them the proper pay. Besides, you'll probably need some money to continue working on the bridge." Sakura said pointing at the stack of money. "Of course, thank you." Tazuna said standing up to collect the money. "Also, I trust that you will protect this man until the bridge is finished? There might be some bandits outside of the hideout that we missed. You won't bail on them like you normally would, right?" She asked, turning to Amaya. She glared at Sakura, though she had no idea what she was talking about.

"Don't worry about it. Though, I would like to know of your friend Zabuza." Kakashi said finally standing up from the table, using crutches to help him stand. "No need to worry about him. We took care of him." Gaara answered as he kept staring at Naruto's wound. Naruto noticed the intense stare and covered his shoulder with his hand. Sakura didn't miss the hiss that escaped his lips when he touched it. "You killed him, too? That's impossible. Not even Kakashi could kill him." Sasuke said as he narrowed his eyes at the group. "No, we didn't kill him. We wouldn't take advantage of an opponent when he's immobile. Hopefully, we bribed him with twice the money Gato had promised us." Sakura explained shrugging.

"Gato promised you money? You mean he hired you to kill Tazuna?" Amaya asked taking a kunai out. "Yes but don't worry, we cut our deal with him the moment we cut off his head." Sakura muttered waving the offending knife off. She turned to the woman. "Uh…"

"Tsunami,"

"Tsunami, could you lend me a bowl full of water? I need to properly clean the Baka's wound." Sakura said bowing her head a bit. "Of course, anything you need." Tsunami said turning around to get the water. Sakura extended her hand at Naruto, who growled at her. She growled back, something Kakashi noticed right away. 'There has to be a reason why their team is named that way.' He thought as he watched the exchanged growls. Finally, Naruto gave up and reached into one of his traveling packs, pulling out a scroll. "Close your eyes," She told Inari then opened the scroll when he did. She made a hand sign then a puff of smoke appeared around the scroll. When the smoke cleared, Gato's head was on top of the scroll. The Genin gasped as they looked at the head. Amaya suddenly tasted her breakfast in her mouth again.

Sakura made another hand sign and it disappeared as Inari opened his eyes. She kneeled down to roll the scroll up then tossed it at Naruto, who caught it and put it away. "I think I'm gonna' throw up," Amaya muttered while holding her stomach. "It's normal if it's the first time you've seen something like that." Kakashi explained, reassuring the heiress. "Heh, you're lucky. The first time the two of us experienced something like that was a rape scene then a murder scene all in one." Naruto muttered nodding his head at Sakura. "Tanuki's first time was putting his own uncle into a near-death state." He continued as he placed a hand on Gaara's shoulder. "Why would you do that?" Kota asked frowning at Gaara.

"He tried to kill me. I was just defending myself. Though the funny thing is I was only six at the time," Gaara said with something sadistic in his voice. He smirked when the kids' eyes widened. "Here you go," Tsunami said as she looked at the team with sympathetic eyes. They hated those eyes but they weren't going to hold that against her, she didn't really know them after all.

Sakura thanked her and grabbed the bowl out of her hands, turning to Naruto as the three of them sat down on the floor. Gaara helped him take off his cloak, shirt and fishnet. Amaya practically drooled when she saw his chest. She also wished he had that blonde hair-blue eye combination when she saw his blond hair spiking up. She then winced when she saw his injury. Sakura grabbed a cloth from her medical pack and soaked it, watching as Naruto's blood dropped onto the floor. She squeezed the water out of the cloth but left it wet enough for it to be smooth on his skin. She placed the cloth on the wound, Naruto hissing as soon as the cold water made contact with his burning hot skin.

"Fuck, Ryu, can't you make it hurt a little more?" Naruto asked sarcasm laced in every single word. "Yeah, I can." Sakura answered as she pushed on the wound. Naruto grunted as he grabbed his pants. "I fucking hate you," Naruto muttered through gritted teeth as he glared over his shoulder though no one saw it because of the mask. "I love you, too." Sakura said, running her free hand down his arm. He shrugged it off with a growl but hissed again when Sakura put more pressure on his injury.

Amaya, in the meantime, glared at Sakura for touching him like that, Sasuke glared at Naruto for being touched like that and Kota grinned at the interaction. Kakashi sweat dropped while Tazuna seemed lost and Tsunami told Inari to go to his room. Sakura cleaned his wound then closed it again with the medical Ninjutsu she knew. "Stop moving so much, Kyuubi won't be able to heal it if you don't stay still." Sakura ordered him and Naruto just grunted then nodded. Sakura threw him his shirt as she scoffed and stood up. Under their masks, they were both grinning. Gaara shook his head at their antics, smirking under his own mask.

"I'm just tired. We got like five hours of sleep and we've been either fighting or running ever si

ce." Naruto said as he put his fishnet on, followed by his shirt and cloak. "You're welcomed to stay here." Tsunami offered, bringing all of the attention to her. "Thanks but no thanks. We better make it back to Ame before our two weeks' worth of vacation runs out. Besides, I need to make a report and I want to get it over with." Sakura said waving her offer off. "Amegakure…It's a long way from here and if what Kitsune says it's true, then you guys should rest. You may be strong ninja but Shinobi need their rest. Team Seven will even lend you their futons." Kakashi offered, chuckling nervously when his team glared at him.

Gaara, Naruto and Sakura looked at each other. "It's free," Gaara muttered with a shrug. Sakura sighed, turning back to everyone else. "Fine, we'll stay the night but we're leaving early in the morning. Don't expect us to say goodbye." Sakura said turning away from the group and walking outside of the house. Naruto sighed as he turned to Gaara. "I'll go talk to her," He left the room afterwards.

"Why didn't she want to stay?" Tazuna asked, beating Kota to the punch. "She despises Haruno and Uchiha, especially you two." Gaara said, nodding at Amaya and Sasuke. "Why?" Kota asked, smirking when the old man glared at him. "Let's just say that we weren't born in Amegakure and our perspective villages hated our guts." Gaara hinted, sitting down at the table. "She's from Konoha?" Kakashi asked soon after. The Genin's attention was caught at the mention if their home. "They're both from Konoha," Gaara muttered nodding his head to the door. "What happened? I mean, you're ninja from Amegakure, right?" Kota asked raising his brow. "It's not in my place to talk about that." Gaara said crossing his arms over his chest, indicating that the conversation was over.

Kitsune, Ryuu…..

Sakura was sitting by the shore. She had her mask on her head as she looked at the reflection of her face in the water. She frowned when she looked at her eyes. Her eyes had changed when she reached the age of ten. No one had found anything wrong with them. Not even Itachi or Pein could comprehend what had happened to her eyes. She sighed as she lowered her head, the hood covering her face. That wasn't what was bringing her down, though.

Sakura heard footsteps approach her and knew exactly who it was. Naruto sat down by her, moving his mask up to his head. The two didn't utter a word but rather just looked on as the sun finished rising and shone on the water. The silence was comfortable but Naruto could tell that something was bothering Sakura. He looked down at the water as he shifted a little. "All this water makes me want to go piss." He muttered, receiving a snicker. He smirked as he looked at her then frowned when she only looked at her reflection.

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked, placing his hand over hers. Sakura sighed as she looked up. "I didn't want to stay here." She told him, closing her eyes. That's when the blonde understood what was bothering her. She didn't want to be near her sister. "I don't know. I guess I'm still surprised about her being here. I mean, a Rookie Genin coming on an A-ranked mission? It doesn't matter if they were tricked into it, it's still fucking unfair." Sakura said shaking her head then grabbed her hood when it was about to fall off. "I have a feeling that that's not the only thing bothering you. Come on, we're Genin and we've gone on four S-ranked missions." Naruto reasoned smirking when she glared at him.

"Yeah but we've been training our whole lives for this. Who knows when Amaya started actually training? I bet you a thousand yen that she doesn't know more than five jutsu, not counting the basic Kawarimi, Bunshin and Henge." Sakura challenged, turning away from him. "I'll take you on that bet. But, Sakura-chan, I know that's not the only thing bothering you." Naruto pressed, squeezing her hand.

Sakura looked at him and her eyes softened. The guy read her like an open book. "I guess it's because she gets to wear that symbol around proudly when she hasn't done a thing to help anyone and I don't. I guess a part of me still wants to be a part of the Haruno, even if my heart hates them completely. What's also bothering me is that she gets to go around with two cute boys and I have two Jinchuuriki, who behave like children when at home." Sakura joked, smirking when Naruto frowned at her.

"Do you have something to say to me?" He asked narrowing his eyes. Sakura chuckled, reaching into his hood to run a hand through his hair. This action made him lean into the touch and purr. "No, I'm fine with you Bakas." She told him as she watched his face turn from a frown into a look of ecstasy. "So, if you had the chance, you would go back to Konoha and leave Akatsuki?" Naruto asked suddenly frowning. Sakura stopped her actions and looked into his eyes. "Never would I leave you. You've been my family for seven years and Akatsuki is my home. I'd be lost if I were somewhere else without knowing that you were by my side." Sakura said leaning her forehead on his.

Naruto didn't say anything but rather leaned in to press his lips against hers. Sakura was taken back. They've been dating for almost a year now but they never had such advantages, even when the chances came. This was truly their first kiss. And Sakura couldn't help but get lost in it. She closed her eyes and kissed back, their hoods hiding both of their faces. Naruto reached into her hood and cupped her cheek, deepening the kiss. Sakura grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him closer. Naruto growled into the kiss, liking the aggressiveness.

A cough was heard and they separated, quickly turning to the shore. Gaara stood there with his arms crossed in front of his chest. They couldn't see his reaction because of his mask, adding more to their embarrassment. "Well, it's about time. Anyway, I'd hate to interrupt you lovebirds but Tsunami made us breakfast. I suggest you leave your making-out for later before the food gets cold." And he was amused. Gaara turned around and started walking back into the house. "I hate him," Naruto muttered under his breath. Sakura glanced at him then smirked. "Thanks," She leaned up and pecked his lips, shocking him. "No problem…Wait, what are you thanking me for?" Naruto asked, slightly confused. "For making me fully realize where my home is. When I saw Amaya again wearing our clan's symbol, I got jealous because I knew she was being trained by Tou-san. But when you asked me if I would leave you, you made me realize that I had nothing to be jealous about. I have a great boyfriend, a little brother, an older brother and about a dozen or so people who really care about me and would do anything for me. Plus, I was starting to think that you didn't have the guts to kiss me. Thanks for clearing that up for me." Sakura said running her hand through his hair.

Naruto grinned at her then jumped on her, their hoods falling off their heads. He wrapped his arms around her waist and jumped into the water with her in his arms. Naruto grinned at her under water when she glared at him. He then leaned in, kissing her. Sakura closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, enjoying the freedom they had underwater. They pulled each other closer as they tried to stay under the water. Soon, the need for air arose and they had to separate. They put their hoods on and surfaced, gasping for air. Sakura put her hands on top of the water and pulled herself onto the water, Naruto following her example. Sakura used a Katon jutsu to dry herself up while Naruto used his Futon. When they went back into the house, they were both completely dry and with their masks on.

They sat down at the almost empty table, joining Gaara in his meal. Tsunami was washing dishes and Tazuna was reading something at the end of the table. Team Seven had left and Inari was up in his room. They ate quietly, Tazuna glad for the silence. As soon as they finished, the trio left the house, leaving a few Kage Bunshin with the family just in case.

They went to look for Team Seven to see if any of them wanted to spar with Naruto. They found them in the forest by Tazuna's house. Kakashi was explaining something to them. The three listened in, only to find out that they were trying out the Tree Climbing exercise for the first time. "You owe me a thousand yen," Sakura whispered over to Naruto. "Now, wait. You don't know if she actually knows any jutsu by that exercise." Naruto countered only to be slapped in the face by facts. "Naruto, this is a basic chakra control exercise. If you don't know this, you can't learn many jutsu. This is one of the few exercises you can do to learn better chakra control." Sakura explained, rolling her eyes when he started hitting his head with a tree trunk, muttering, "Stupid, stupid, stupid," over and over again.

Gaara rolled his eyes then turned back to the team. Kota and Sasuke had only been able to go up two steps before falling off. Sasuke had put in too much chakra and Kota too little. Amaya was the last to try and she was able to touch the first branch before slipping and falling off. She couldn't keep the flow of chakra in her feet and gravity took its toll on her, letting her slip off.

"Looks like Amaya has the best chakra control of them team. Though, that's completely normal, seeing as she's from a Genjutsu clan. Okay, I want you to keep trying until sunset or until you run out of chakra. Akuma no Buntai may have told us that they got rid of Gato and made Zabuza leave us alone but we need to protect Tazuna in case they missed any other bandit or ninja." Kakashi said from a tree branch. He looked over his team before nodding, indicating that they could start.

He jumped down from his tree, forgetting that his body couldn't take so much and almost collapsed on the floor. However, Naruto and Sakura had caught him before he met the ground by grabbing both of his shoulders and helping him stand up. He looked at them, his breathing hard. 'They're fast.' He looked up as Gaara landed in front of him, nodding at him. "Are you okay?" Naruto asked, his voice hinting concern. He may despise Konoha but that didn't mean he had to be cold towards fellow ninja. Besides, his hate resided more towards the civilians and council members rather than Shinobi.

"I'm fine. I guess I just forgot my body wasn't able to withstand so much at the moment." Kakashi said as Gaara handed him his crutches. "What made you so weak?" Sakura asked examining his body with her eyes. "If I use my Sharingan too much, my chakra will exhaust. I will be fine in a few days." Kakashi explained with a sigh. "Well, just take it easy. You're no good to these brats if you're in a wheelchair." Naruto said as he stood in front of the Jonin with his team.

"That reminds me. May I ask how old are you?" Kakashi asked as he looked at them. They keep calling his team brats and twerps when they themselves couldn't be any older than them. "Kitsune and I are thirteen. Tanuki is twelve." Sakura said leaning against the tree he was previously stand on.

"You're younger than my team, why do you keep insulting them with those names?" Kakashi asked with a frown. They were very mysterious and very confusing. "'Cause their skill and experience is way lower than ours." Naruto said with a shrug. "We've been ninja since we were all six. They're just Rookies fresh out of the academy." Gaara said looking at the Genin as they tried to run up the tree and failed miserably. "What rank are you guys, then?" Kakashi pressed. He needed details for his report since he couldn't get their names.

"Genin," Naruto answered watching Sasuke's every move. Kakashi nodded, accepting their answer. He wasn't shocked but he was surprised that a team of mere Genin could take on Gato's men and the mastermind behind it all. On top of that, they were able to get Zabuza to release him from the Suiro jutsu pretty easily. They really must have a lot of experience. Amegakure really had worked them up.

"If you're so experienced, why are you still Genin?" Kakashi said, trying to keep a conversation with them. He had nothing else to do and he was pretty sure that they had left someone behind to watch over the house. "We're gonna give the Chunin Exams a try next month. Though we could be promoted to a higher rank because of our missions, our leader wants us to go to strengthen the alliance." Sakura replied as she watched Amaya fall and had to resist the urge to laugh. "Say, could I spar with him before we leave? It'd be fun to watch his arrogance go down a few notches." Naruto asked pointing at Sasuke. Naruto could feel the arrogance and pride the guy had around him. He could feel the same thing about Amaya but he'll leave that to Sakura.

"Uh, sure, I guess." Kakashi said, rubbing the back of his neck. "All right, then! Hey, Uchiha! Get your ass over here!" Naruto yelled at him, bringing everyone's attention to him. Sasuke walked over to him, hands in his pocket. "What is it? You're interrupting my training." Sasuke said glaring at him.

"I thought I should relieve you. It looks like you're getting your ass beaten by that tree." Naruto said crossing his arms across his chest. "I'd like to see you try, you loser." Sasuke challenged as his glare became harder. 'Damn, he really is Sensei's brother.' Gaara thought as he simply just stared at the two. Naruto scoffed and started walking backwards on the tree he had been recently leaning against. "You were saying, Uchiha?" The blonde mocked as he did a front flip and landed in front of him.

Sasuke's glare never softened, if anything, it got harder. He cocked back his fist and aimed at Naruto's head. Naruto caught the punch easily. "Please, you're gonna have to do better than that to beat me." Naruto mocked with a sigh, as if seeming disappointed. Sasuke gritted his teeth and jumped back, quickly making hand seals. "Katon: Goukkakyou no jutsu," He yelled out before bringing his fingers up to his mouth and blowing. A giant fireball was formed as it flew towards Naruto.

Everyone jumped out of the way except for Naruto. Naruto took out a scroll and opened it, making his own set of hand signs afterwards. "Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu," Naruto yelled as a current of water appeared from the scroll. A wall of water encircled around Naruto, taking the fireball. The fireball turned to smoke, blinding everything from Naruto's side. Suddenly, a large force of water erupted from the smoke and hit Sasuke. Sasuke was slammed back before hitting a tree. When the smoke cleared, Naruto stood there with his arms crossed. "Pathetic. Do you really think you're going to beat Itachi like that?" Naruto asked his voice rough and overpowering. Sasuke's eyes shot open as he looked at the kitsune.

"How do you…?" Sasuke trailed as he stared at Naruto with wide eyes. "Who do you think trained us?" Sakura asked walking up by Naruto, Gaara following her example. Realization fell on Team Seven as they stared at the Akuma no Buntai. Sasuke then glared at them. "Where's Itachi?" He asked and they knew that they had hit a rough spot. "We don't know. He comes and goes, you know. He never stays in one place for long," Sakura said with a shrug. And that was only half-true. He doesn't stay in one place for long while traveling. However, Amegakure is his home now. Of course he's going to stay there.

"You were trained by Uchiha Itachi?" Amaya asked as she walked up to them. "Yes. Is something wrong with that?" Gaara asked turning to her. "No. It's just that Itachi took my sister when he killed off his clan." Amaya told them, looking at the ground as if remembering something. "What?" Sasuke asked looking at her. "Yeah, he took my little sister and another boy. The Hokage announced them both dead two years after he took them. You didn't meet them by any chance, right?" Amaya asked the trio. They looked at each other. "No, we didn't, sorry." Sakura lied, her heartbeat decreasing its rate slowly. Amaya nodded, going back to her thinking pose.

"Well, it looks like it's time for us to head back. We need to take care of a few things before we leave. Honestly, Sasuke, that was a pretty weak fight, try working on it. We'll see you tonight. Come one, let's go, you two." Naruto said as he jumped into the trees, Gaara and Sakura following him. He wanted to get out of there fast. They were curious and he didn't want to risk them getting caught.

Tazuna's House…..The Next Morning

Kakashi had woken up and walked towards the kitchen. He found Tsunami washing dishes and Tazuna reading. He looked around the table and frowned. He would have guessed that the Ame team had woken up by now. He sat down at the table, Tsunami telling him that she will give him his breakfast soon. Tazuna looked at Kakashi then glanced at the door. "They left," He said as his eyes landed on the Jonin again. Kakashi nodded, showing that he was listening. "They said something about their leader expecting them at home tomorrow. They ate breakfast and left."

"How was Kitsune's shoulder?" Kakashi asked, remembering that the blonde had gotten an injury. "It was completely healed. He had so scab and no scar. Pretty amazing if you ask me." Tazuna said as he began reading again. Kakashi nodded, quickly beginning to think. He wouldn't have been bothered by them leaving if he didn't know that Ryu and Kitsune were from Konoha. Something was off and he was going to find out about it. They had said something about helping Izumo on a mission. Maybe he should go ask the Chunin when they got back.

Kakashi sighed. Kitsune had beaten Sasuke yesterday and the Uchiha couldn't stop fuming about it. Sasuke seemed jealous and overall pissed. The fact that Amaya was able to get to the top of the tree first didn't help, either. 'This team is going to fall apart if I don't do something about the two's arrogance soon.'

Kitsune, Ryu, Tanuki…..The Next Day

As soon as they went through Amegakure's front gates, the team took off their masks. It was raining so they decided to keep their cloaks on. They made a bee-line to the tower, where they were to report back from their mission along with the rest of the Akatsuki. They knocked on the door before going in, the darkness of the room shadowing over them. They took off the hoods and stared at the shadows in the room. "We're reporting back on our mission, Pein-sama." Sakura asked with authority hinting in her voice.

"Report," Pein replied as he opened his eyes. Other eyes opened in the room, equalling twelve pairs of eyes, including theirs. "Gato of the Gato Shipping Company hired us to kill an offending bridge builder. Gato explained to us that the bridge builder was trying to get rid of him and had hired Konohagakure ninja to do so. We teamed up with Kirigakure's Oni Kyodai to get rid of the old man. We stayed behind, however, because things seemed a little weird to us. That's when we overheard Tazuna explaining things to the Konoha team. Gato was a drug dealer who used the cover of shipping owner to make illegal deals and kill off innocent people. We regrouped with Zabuza and Haku, who had also been hired by Gato in case we failed. We warned Zabuza of Gato's real plans but he went on with his original mission. We stopped him from killing the Genin team that Tazuna had hired and let him fight with their Jonin instructor. Zabuza lost and was almost killed by the Jonin but Haku saved him. We fled the battle scene before we were questioned." Sakura explained, nodding over at Gaara to give him the role.

"At midnight, we invaded Gato's hideout and killed him, gathering all of the money he had in his room. We killed off every bandit and guard at the hideout and gave Zabuza and Haku twice the money Gato had offered us all together. We then went to give Tazuna some of the money. We would've left Nami that day but Naruto got a serious injury and he needed the rest." Gaara reported, his eyes never leaving Pein's. "We also offered Zabuza and Haku a place here in Akatsuki. We're sure they'll take up on the offer but the decision is up to you, Pein-sama." Naruto said with a bow. He hated being so formal but Pein would not have any goofing around during reports.

"How much money did you three gather?" Pein asked as he narrowed his eyes at them. The mission was a success. After all, every member of Akatsuki knew of Gato's real identity except for the three youngsters. The mission was a test to see if they would act on their instincts or just think of the mission.

"We don't know. We were hoping Kakuzu would count the money for us." Naruto said as Sakura took out seven scrolls and unrolled them. She made a hand sign and puffs of smoke appeared on the seven scrolls. All of the cash they had gathered appeared on top of the scrolls. "Holy crap," A deep voice sounded throughout the room. "Kakuzu just died and went to heaven, hm." A smoother voice was heard, making Naruto chuckle. "Good job, you three. May I ask how many people you killed for Jashin?" A man asked as the kids tensed. "Uh…We lost count after thirty…?" Sakura said, the reply sounding more of a question rather than an answer. A grunt of approval was heard, making them sigh in relief.

"Quiet, everyone," Pein said as he walked out of the shadows and to the trio. "This shall be ranked as a high B-rank mission, seeing as two of you came out unharmed. I'm also guessing it wasn't a level of difficulty. I will let Kakuzu count the money then I will give you half of it." Pein said as he looked at each of them.

"Half of it? Are you serious? That's awesome!" Naruto said grinning at him. "Not that I mind but why half of it?" Sakura asked, confused. The three only get one-thirds of the missions, not this much. "I have my reasons for giving you this much. Now, go enjoy your vacation because you're going to Konoha next month." Pein said turning his back on them. "Wait, Konoha? The Chunin Exams are being held in Konoha this year?" Sakura asked frowning. Things only keep getting worse for her. "Yes and you are not skipping out on this one. I need you three to attend. Some of my spies are saying that Orochimaru is infiltrating the Chunin Exams this year. As to why, we have no idea. But that's where you three come in." Pein said as he turned back to them. He hadn't planned on telling them their real purpose on entering the exams this year until the day they left but things don't always go as planned.

"You are to locate Orochimaru and watch his every move. Do not interfere, however. I don't want any complications with Konoha ninja. Itachi, would you please explain to them the parts of the exam?" Pein nodded at Itachi as the lights switched on. Finally, everyone was visible. Itachi nodded at them, narrowing his eyes. "There are three parts to the exam. First part is a written test. However, it's not the test you are to focus on but rather collecting the answers from the other participants. The second part is a survival exercise. There are two scrolls. You are given one and you are to look for another squad with the other scroll. You need to get the scroll at all costs and meet at the centre of the training ground. After that, you are given one month to prepare for the third part. The third stage is a one on one battle tournament. Everyone is going to be watching you, from Daimyo and Kage down to civilians. Sasori," Itachi explained then nodded at a redheaded man.

"All right, listen up because I'm only saying this once. We were told that Orochimaru is making an appearance during the second part of the exam. We don't have many details because my connections with the spy under Orochimaru's orders have been caught off but it is possible that Orochimaru may be planning an invasion against Konoha using Otogakure. We cannot let Konoha fall, that will only ensure that Orochimaru will only get stronger. You are to pick up his scent or chakra signature and watch him during this part. Got it?" Sasori asked as he watched their reactions. Sakura seemed a little peeved but she was listening. Naruto and Gaara were putting their full attention on the plans.

"Okay. It's time for the rules. You are not going to be under Itachi, Sasori or Hidan's order. Konan is going with you because she's a legal Amegakure Shinobi. You are not going to use any masks or Henge to cover up your identity," Pein stopped when he heard Naruto and Sakura groan then continued. "You will be wearing headsets at all times and will do whatever Konan tells you to do. If you are called to the Hokage, tell him everything you know about Orochimaru's invasion. It wouldn't hurt to have Konoha ready for the invasion." Pein ordered then asked if they had any questions. Sakura frowned at him and everyone instantly knew that she either found a loophole in their plan or had interesting facts.

"So, you're saying that Orochimaru is trying to destroy Konoha? But why would he need to infiltrate the exams? He could just attack during the final event when everyone's attention is focused on the battles. He didn't need to invade the exams if his goal was only to destroy Konoha." Sakura said looking at them. "That means he's looking for something else, right?" A man with blue skin asked as he looked at Pein.

"That fucking bastard is making this crap harder for us." A man with white hair cursed while crossing his arms. "Hidan, shut up. You might be right, Kisame." Kakuzu said looking at the shark-like man. "What is he after then, hm?" A teenager with long blonde hair asked staring at Sakura. "I don't know, Deidara…" Sakura muttered lowering her head a little. Everyone started thinking, silence falling upon them. Not minutes later, Naruto spoke. "What was he after last time we saw him?" He asked, bringing everyone's attention to him.

"He wanted to fight Itachi-sensei because he wanted the…." Sakura trailed off, realization dawning down on her. It didn't take long for everyone to understand what she meant. "He wanted the Sharingan. That means he's after Itachi-sensei's younger brother." Gaara said looking at Naruto and Sakura. Naruto shook his head. "But Sasuke hasn't activated his Sharingan, yet." The blonde said frowning. "How do you know this, Naruto?" Kisame asked narrowing his eyes at him. "Sasuke was in the Genin team Tazuna had hired to protect him. Anyway, Naruto has a point. Sasuke doesn't have his Sharingan yet. How can Orochimaru take it if it's not there?" Sakura asked looking at Itachi.

"You can force the Sharingan to awaken if you're having a hard time in a battle. Maybe Orochimaru is planning on fighting Sasuke to awaken the Sharingan." Itachi considered. Naruto shook his head again. "But wait. Why would Orochimaru want the Sharingan if he's already one of the Densetsu no Sannin?" He asked, only adding more to the mystery. "Remember what he told Itachi-sensei before he fled?" Gaara asked him. Naruto thought back before shrugging. "He said something about becoming immortal so he could learn all of the jutsu in the world."

"With the Sharingan, he can copy any jutsu, even forbidden ones. Also, Sasuke's pretty young. Orochimaru would love getting his hands on him." Itachi said and Sakura gasped, her eyes widening. "You don't mean…He mastered that jutsu?" She asked, making everyone's eyes widen. Itachi nodded his head and almost everyone in the room groaned. "Great, we have an immortal wanna-be on the loose." Naruto commented, every word dripping with sarcasm.

"That concludes it. Orochimaru's after Sasuke because of his body and Sharingan. This is not good. If he gets his hands on Sasuke, our plan of world peace is screwed, hm." Deidara said crossing his arms and frowning. "Right, Zetsu, go and gather information about the invasion." Pein ordered, looking at a plant-like man in the corner of the room. Zetsu nodded and vanished into the ground. "The rest of you, I want you to train as much as you can. We're not letting Orochimaru take the Sharingan nor are we letting him invade Konoha. Akuma no Buntai, you are to train this whole week and relax the next. I know you have jutsu and moves you are working on so I'm giving you a week to perfect them. You leave in two weeks. Good luck," Pein said, dismissing everyone. 'Something big is coming and I don't like it at all.'

(A/N: I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed last chapter and I'd also like to apologize for making you wait. You see, last weekend, the stores had dropped all taxes on school and office items and I couldn't let that go to waste. Plus, I wrote twice of what I wrote last chapter. I didn't feel like leaving you hanging in an Arc where we all know what's going to happen. As you can see, we focused more on Akuma no Buntai and Akatsuki in this chapter. Their plans are a little mixed up, seeing as Akatsuki is trying to help make world peace while Akuma no Buntai wants revenge on their villages. Anyway, onto the Glossary:

Amaterasu- Technique used by Uchiha Itachi. Amaterasu, named for the Goddess of the Sun, is a Ninjutsu technique which uses the Mangekyou form of the Sharingan eye to create a powerful black fire. This jutsu is generated by the right Mangekyou eye. It has been said that anything within the Mangekyou's vision will burn to ash if consumed by the fire. The fire itself is said to burn for 7 days and 7 nights. Because of the amount of chakra needed to use the technique, it can only be used on a very limited basis daily. Though it is regarded as the strongest of Mangekyou's physical attacks, usage of the ability will degrade the eye further and lead the user to blindness.

Bauntifōsuchīmu- Bounty Force Team

Densetsu no Sannin- Three Legendary Ninja. The group consists of Jiraiya, Senju Tsunade and Orochimaru

Fōsuchīmu ni hantai- Opposing Force Team

Geijutsu-tekina chīmu- Artistic Team

Kai- Release

Katagawa no Jotai- One-Tailed State

Katon: Goukkakyou no jutsu- Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Fire Element. The ninja does the necessary hand seals, draws chakra from their mouth into their chest and then immediately exhales it. They then blow a stream of fire which erupts into a large sphere of flames. To better manage the flames the ninja will bring their hand to their mouth to control it. Katon jutsu such as this are seen as a rite of passage into adulthood for Uchiha clan members. Once the member can manipulate fire, they are finally recognized as no longer being a child.

Kawarimi no jutsu- Substitution Jutsu

Kiri no Shinobigatana no Shichininshu- Seven Swordsmen if the Mist

Kirigakure no Jutsu- Hidden Mist Jutsu

Kubikiri Hocho- Beheading Cleaver; Zabuza's weapon

Mangekyou Sharingan- The last stage of the Sharingan and only two people have been able to obtain it. Not much is known as of now.

Oni Kyodai- Demon Brothers

Otogakure- Hidden Sound Village

Sabaku Rou- Desert Prison

Sabaku Sousou- Desert Funeral

Sharingan no Kakashi- Kakashi the Copy-Cat

Suiro no Jutsu- Water Prison

Suiton: Daibakufu no jutsu- Water Style: Great Waterfall Jutsu is a Ninjutsu technique utilizing the Water Element. After doing the needed hand seals a column of water will circle the ninja and then a large force of water will erupt to hit the attacker. Due to the force of the water the target will be fully enveloped by the water and at its mercy as is pulls them away.

Tengoku no chīmu- Heavenly Team

Tsukyomi- Technique used by Uchiha Itachi. Not much is known of the technique.

Zettai Bogyo- Ultimate Defence

Thanks again and I will try to update faster,

7th Creature