The Burning Leaves

by ajd09

Naruto has saved his friend and lead to the destruction of Madara. The nations have prospered. However, twenty peaceful years pass and still someone lurks, waiting to take his mark. Will this new generation get caught in the middle of a rising threat? A long fic, recommended for readers who like the focus on future generation OC . Mostly from canon predictions. Now is Alternate TL.

9. Finding The Answers

-Author's note-

This chapter is a big deal to me. You'll get answers and begin to better understand the depth of some of these characters. Things aren't all rainbows and sunshine in this story.

Chapter 9: Finding the Answers

At first it was nothing special. When she focused her chakra into it, the paper split in two. Next, the pieces became soggy. After that, something peculiar happened: It completely froze over. No matter how Konohamaru looked at it, her chakra was showing signs of the ice-release. "That should be…impossible."

Even Kaito hadn't seen this before. "Is that a kekkei genkai?" Yuuki looked up to the group and shifted her eyes around. They were all transfixed on this weird square of paper. Konohamaru rubbed his stubbed beard in wonder.

"Umm, a wakka whatkai? Is this supposed to happen?" Takeshi and Noriko began looking at the remainder of their cards and sighed.

"I don't think so. Well, I mean it doesn't make sense." He was struggling to find the words. "You have wind and water natures, but it would appear that you have the ability to form the advanced nature of ice. It's supposed to be a genetic trait though."

"So, according to this piece of paper, I could theoretically make ice jutsus? Does that mean Isami and dad can to?" Yuuki tried to make sense of what he was telling her.

"No, neither of them can, and not even the Fourth Hokage could. In fact, your father fought the last of the ice-users on his first C-Ranked mission. I don't remember the kid's name, but he wasn't known to have any relation to your father. That's exactly why this should be impossible; that boy was killed in the fight." Konohamaru rubbed his head, not knowing what to think about it. "That also means no one can help you figure this out if it is true."

Yuuki stared at the frozen pieces of paper. That was really all she could do. She was just learning a water jutsu a minute ago, and now she was being told there's this ice-jutsu no one but her could do. Where do you go from this point?

"Well, if no one can help, you'll just have to figure it out the hard way, right?" She looked up to Takeshi, who was giving her a rare grin. "However, if you fall behind in the basics, you might as well have nothing. I can't afford to give you slack anymore, now can I?" Konohamaru laughed on the inside; hearing such a simple truth. "I'm going to master walking on water, then I'm gonna beat the snot out of Datsu. Take it one step at a time." Takeshi focused chakra in his feet and ran to the river. When he made contact, he felt himself trip and face plant in the water.

Everyone's face dead panned before a thunderous laughter broke out. The reserved Kaito even fell prey to a snicker. Takeshi surfaced and joined in on the laughter. Inside, Yuuki knew he was just trying to keep her from getting stressed in the moment. "I think you ran out of slack a long time ago, bud."

Isami put on his wolf mask and finished writing the findings. He neatly tucked away the scroll and placed his hand on the ground. "Gotta admit, this is information overload. Even for me. Better spread the word." In the blink of an eye, the ANBU ghost disappeared. This time, not a single leaf was disturbed.

OoOoOoOo

Sunset had come and passed. With a cold wind sweeping through, Team Seven withdrew from the water walking exercise. They arrived in a rather charitable hotel and took some time to relax. The girls and guys were given their own rooms. It wasn't too long until the exhausted kids rested their worries away. Konohamaru gently stepped outside to smoke.

"Ready to get this over with?" Isami approached the man and leaned his back against the railing. Konohamaru continued his break, just staring forward.

"You saw it, right? How is it possible?" Isami rubbed his hand through his hair and shrugged.

"Well, I doubt kekkei genkais always belonged to a set clan. Who says someone can't achieve one with a few generations of hard work?" Konohamaru narrowed his eyes to him as he inhaled. Isami turned forward and looked off the balcony. "Nothing is impossible. Dad trained himself in insane ways we couldn't even comprehend. When he learned of his affinity to water, he worked mercilessly to master it. However, no matter how hard he tried, he could never create an ice release. Do you know how many years he could have accumulated with a thousand clones? Just consider what a total of one year of that adds up to. We're talking countless of generations attempting to mesh the two. He may have deemed it impossible, but I believe he managed to work a passive skill straight into his genes." He laughed at the thought of such an insane possibility. "He had five years after I was born to do it. Probably could explain Yuuki's freakish chakra pool also."

Konohamaru flicked his cigarette away. "You know, I can believe that genius title you've held for so long. It's really a pretty solid theory." He then turned to see Isami attempting to balance two kunai on his nose. One of them slipped off and landed tip first on his eye. Konohamaru panicked as Isami began screaming in pain. "Holy shit! Are you stupid?" As he desperately attempted to help him, Isami turned to him laughing.

"Saved it with chakra! That was close, huh?" The tip rested on his eye as visible chakra held it in place. His uncle gritted his teeth as his eyes twitched.

"This is why you have the reputation of an idiot. You two are the reason I smoke, and you're not even my kids, damn it!" Isami grinned as he grabbed his kunai and pocketed them. He gestured Konohamaru to follow him.

"I like it that way. Who wants to be the serious smart guy anyways? I'll be a happy goof every day of my life, as long as I have the strength to do my part. Gotta have fun while I can, anyways." In his head, Konohamaru smiled at the man Isami had become. He only hoped his daughter Kumi would end up more like Yuuki.

OoOoOoOo

They arrived upon a battered used-to-be fortress held by the former Akatsuki revival effort. Just the sight of it brought back memories he'd rather forget. Konohamaru rubbed the wall near the entrance, knowing it was where he'd lost a good friend. Isami activated his byakugan and proceeded through the wreckage. Finally, they worked their way to where it all happened. Flashbacks hit him forcefully.

OoOo

"See? The Seventh Hokage triumphs once more! We've pushed them back, now it's time we ended this!" A hot shot jounin ran ahead, taunting his team to follow if they could.

"You're twenty-seven years old, Konohamaru. Act your age, you dumbass!" Rekano proceeded to give chase.

"You're both a couple idiots!" The woman looked behind her to a snot nosed man. "Hurry up, Udon! Who knows what kind of trouble they'll get themselves into." Just seeing his face made her smile.

Udon scanned the fortress as he caught up. "It's too simple, Moegi. He knows better than to run ahead without thinking! I'm sure if he gave me time to do some math, I could figure it out." She stopped him for a moment.

"Udon, there's something you should know." She stared in his eyes as he put a hand on her shoulder. Udon waited intently for what she was going to say. Moegi looked away, not being able to muster the courage to tell him. "Never mind. I can tell you after we're done here. We need to get back to the group." He rubbed her arm and smiled before taking off.

Upon catching up, they saw Konohamaru and Rekano cautiously approach the center of a massive, circular room. Rekano put a hand on Konohamaru's scarf. "Something's off. Wait."

Konohamaru knew it was fishy, but he also knew he was the leader. "We can't afford to let these guys escape. We owe it to everyone to continue." Taking one step forward, he ignorantly triggered a sudden trap. Both he and Rekano became stuck in a transparent chakra that prohibited movement. Moegi and Udon got in a fighting stance immediately.

"You dumbasses, I told you!" Udon quickly tossed her out of the way as a blade shot up through the ground.

"This isn't the most ideal situation, but it'll do. Prepare to die." A masked ninja rose through the ground with his arms crossed and a blade in each hand. Udon drew a kunai and searched for his options. "Hurry and decide, that chakra barrier resonates with their own chakra and drains it." He made a slurping sound followed by a cackle.

As the man moved underground, several swords began shooting at them. Udon shuffled in his head for an answer while parrying the blades. With his brain power, the solution came easily. "Moegi, try disrupting the resonant frequency with your medical jutsu! I've already run the calculation, it'll work!" Udon made a hand seal and extended his snot to capture the man's arms and blades.

"Nice one, Udon." She turned to Rekano and used her jutsu. As the barrier blasted away, a powerful wind blew. Seeing Rekano free, she smirked. "Honestly, you wouldn't last a minute without us." She channeled chakra into Konohamaru's barrier as they shared a grin.

"I'll finish this bastard off." Rekano punched his arms down and a wild water chakra raged around them. Udon tried his best to hold the jutsu in place, but the man simply cackled once more.

"Whoopsies." It was as if he was toying with them. As Moegi released his barrier, Konohamaru was showered in blood. The blade had pierced into her back through her chest. Unable to comprehend what had just happened, all he could do was stare. And the eyes! They burned themselves into Konohamaru's head. Just the sheer confusion and terror haunted him.

"Not now…" Her arms jittered to her stomach underneath the blade. Tears fell as she looked down. "Udon…I'm…" A second blade pierced through her heart as another masked man suspended her in the air. Rekano thrust forward and grabbed the man from the snot by the face. He swiftly planted him against the wall and allowed his water to do the rest. Udon's rage sent him sprinting for Moegi.

Konohamaru knew one thing and one thing only: This man was going to regret every second of his life. He slammed his fist down and summoned Enma the monkey king. Without hesitation, Enma transformed into the diamond hard staff. The psychotic man threw Moegi at Udon and leapt back. "How sad, looks like she was two kills in one." Udon's hands covered her wounds and tears rolled out. "We were supposed to be leaders of the New Akatsuki! That is, until you and that cursed Hokage killed all my men. Now you have the balls to kill my brother?" Rekano dropped the lifeless brother and stared daggers through the man. The mysterious ninja exploded in a deafening, winged flame. "Remember the name well!" The man paused as he drifted into the ground.

OoOo

"Guden!" Isami drew a kunai and extended it in his left arm. His right arm instantly dropped and formed a rasengan. His byakugan searched everywhere for him.

"Where damn it, where?" Konohamaru shook himself into reality. He began stepping forward, making Isami tilt his head in confusion.

"Turn over every god damn stone. He was the one who murdered my closest friends. In this very place!" The news shocked Isami. He had no idea what to say to his uncle, so he said nothing. "It was hard to hear him, but there's not a single doubt in my mind anymore!" Konohamaru's fist shook.

"We've got a few more days. I know it's hard, but we should be patient. Priority right now is to let my father know. Let's return tomorrow and tear this place apart." Isami put his hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. Let's do them a favor and keep everyone else protected." Konohamaru's eyes refused to lift, but he gave a gentle nod. Guden. Just what was this man?

OoOoOoOo

"Everyone up! Time to get started." Yuuki shot up and tried to adjust her eyes. He practically blinded her as he parted the shades.

"Would it kill anyone in this family to let me wake up on my own?" He grinned.

"Well, it's already an hour passed sunrise. At you're rate, the sun would be setting as you woke. Let's hurry up and work on your water walking."

The team arrived at the river to find Kaito meditating. He moved his head to them with a face of no emotion. "Hey, sorry if we're bothering you. Just looking to do some training." Konohamaru felt awkward with the silence that followed.

"It's no bother. In fact, I was counting on it. If there no objections, would you mind if I trained with Noriko?" Yuuki looked at Noriko who had a hint of a blush. She prodded her with her elbow and winked. Noriko stepped on her foot and began to move forward. Konohamaru shrugged.

"Yeah, I've got nothing for her. She kind of destroyed my lesson schedule anyways." The two left without words. Konohamaru turned to the remaining two and smiled. "Alright, listen up. As you may have already noticed, water walking is a completely different game. Remember to adjust your chakra for the flow of the water and don't worry so much about falling in. Just keep that in mind and you should be able to master it quickly." Yuuki raised an eyebrow at how helpful he was being.

"It's odd for you to be so constructive. Did something happen?" Konohamaru grinned at her, which was even more off putting. "Never mind. I'll find out one way or another."

The two of them stepped to the edge and focused their chakra. Yesterday they were able to take several seconds before falling in, but today they had a relaxed confidence about them. Slowly, they walked out to the middle and wobbled around. Both of them focused on the flow of the water and pictured a natural balance in themselves. Yuuki turned to Takeshi and smirked. "Easy as pie, huh?" Now she gave him a stern push, knocking him off balance. To Konohamaru's surprise, he was able to keep himself afloat.

"You two snuck out, didn't you?" He grew a hint of anger. "You can't be reckless like that! What if you were attacked again?"

Yuuki snorted. "I don't know what Takeshi did, but I used the bath water to do it. Not reckless at all." Konohamaru's jaw dropped; he never really thought of it before.

Takeshi rubbed his neck. "Yeah, same here. Nothing to it. You get used to the still water, then drain it to get a few seconds of running water.

He lit up a cigarette. "Damn kids. Now what am I supposed to do today?" Yuuki twiddled her thumbs a little.

"Actually, I thought up an idea for myself yesterday. Do you care if I train alone? I won't be too far away." Konohamaru felt his teaching momentum leave his sails.

"Hey, you could give me some tips then. I could use a little revamp in style." Takeshi stepped forward to his sensei. "Besides, I'm sure you're tired of coaching from the sidelines." He scratched his beard and nodded his head, subtly shifting his eyes to the forest line.

"Well, I doubt I can stop Yuuki from doing what she wants. What the hell, why not." She giggled with a satisfied face before she took off.

"Thank you, Konohamaru-Uncle-Sensei!" He bent his head down at her formal informality.

Takeshi grew a lot more serious when she was out of sight. "Sensei, I'm going to be frank; I feel like I'm the weak link in this team." He looked down in shame. "Those two are freaks of nature, and I just want to level with them without using my sharingan." Konohamaru blew smoke in his face, making him lose his calm demeanor. "Hey, what the hell was that for?"

"That's for being an idiot! You have good intentions, but you'll never catch up thinking like that. You have the sharingan, and like it or not, it can seriously compliment your style. It's foolish to flash it at the start of a battle, or even rely on it. However, training wisely with it can give you that hard work feeling and rapid growth." Takeshi looked away, knowing how others saw the sharingan. It was a shortcut to becoming a 'genius'. He almost wished he never had it. Konohamaru sighed. "Alright, let's give it a try, just this once. Activate your sharingan." Takeshi did as he was told and stared at his sensei. Quickly, Konohamaru made four hand seals. "Doton: Dochu Eigyo no Jutsu!"

Takeshi watched as he quickly created a hole in the ground and emerged behind him. Takeshi deactivated his sharingan. "Hey, come on! How is copying jutsus my way of working hard? Konohamaru pulled Takeshi's headband over his eyes.

"Because now, you're going to learn how to fight blindfolded. I know you can take a punch, but be sure to dodge it." Takeshi went to a half assed stance and was punished for it. A swift jab to the gut sent him down. "In no way am I kidding. If you don't want to rely on your eyes, you will fight without them." Takeshi stood up and grinned.

"So that's where you're getting at. I don't see how it's possible, but I guess I'll play along." Takeshi widened his base and prepared for what promised to be a beat down.

OoOoOoOo

Yuuki wanted to know once and for all. She grabbed her ration and smiled deviously. "Boy am I starved!" She took a massive bite of it and proceeded to fake choke. After grabbing her throat, she began convincingly rolling on the floor. Not long after, she let her hands go limp.

"Are you serious!" Isami rushed out and rolled her on her back. What he saw was a mouth full of chewed food as she stuck her tongue out at him. He stared in shock before he lowered his head. "Son of a-" A swift kick to the nuts sent him rolling to the floor.

"You're worse than dad, you know! I mean, it's bad enough you try to deceive me, but ruining that moment? Mind your own damn business!" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"It's not like that!" He lifted his head to see her meanest glare inches away.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure you just 'accidently' scared the shit out of us when we were so close." She pinched his cheek nearly off his face. She then let go and put her hands on her hips, now with a smile. "So that just means you have to make it up to me for the rest of your life." If it was possible, his head hung even lower to the ground.

"It's vital that you don't let on to my presence. Dad needed the best to escort your team, since you two have been targeted before." He looked up to her with a rather serious face. "My job is to get you home-safe from the shadows."

She sighed and waved her hand. "Fine, I get it. So anyways, I figured I could use your input on a little idea of mine." He raised his eyebrow and lowered his jaw. How long has she known? "But first, I need to ask you a question, and I need a straight answer: Are you moving in with Hitomi? Just say yes, or no." Isami sighed as he moved to a seated position.

"Yes." Yuuki's world might as well have stopped, spun the other direction and flipped upside down. The answer made her fall in depression, punching the ground.

"I can't accept that. You were supposed to say no…" He rolled his eyes. "Why did you two lie about it then? That makes things even worse inside!" A tear formed in her eyes, knowing her hopes just shot out the window. Isami really couldn't bear to see her that way.

"Let me set the record straight for everyone. Again, you absolutely CAN'T tell anyone about this. Neither of us lied. You're failing to see the pieces aligning." He scratched his cheek and looked away. "I'm romantically involved with Kochi, not Hitomi. We just need a little more cash to make the rent, that's all."

Yuuki punched him square in the face with fire in her eyes. "Say that in the first place, damn it!" It was hard to tell if she was more relieved or pissed.

"You told me to say yes or no." He rubbed his cheek and sneered at her. "Enough of these questions, I already told you more information than I was ready to. Not easy for me to feel tied down, ya know?" She sat properly and smiled.

"You need to tell mom and dad soon. Anyways, thank you for making my day." He grunted as he tilted his head away. "Alright, now for a more serious question. You know how when you make a ton of clones, they naturally appear farther away?"

Isami tilted his head. "Yeah, so what?" He squinted before getting excited. "I know! You're thinking about spawning clones in your clones so they can fight while they fight!" Yuuki slapped him in the face.

"It was a rhetorical question!" He rubbed his face again, glaring at her. "So, taking out the clones in between, you spawned a clone a far distance away from you, right?" Isami's posture jolted and he couldn't help but grin. Yuuki grinned right back. "Bingo! Do you think it's feasible to spawn clones wherever you want?"

Isami placed a finger on his temple and thought deeply. "You know, I never really thought about it." Isami lifted his face back to hers. "Do you know what makes the clones special besides the experience perks and the physical copy?" She squinted and looked away. "The answer is probably not so important to spend all day on. They belong to a field of ninjutsu called 'time/space ninjutsu'. Basically, you are modifying 'space' in two instances: Creating the physical copy and spawning it in a set location. It probably would take some serious training and more chakra, but I think it's actually possible." He made a double take in his head and smiled. "Yuuki, that's actually brilliant. When did this idea come about?"

She rubbed her nose as she laughed. "Just came across my mind when I made all those clones yesterday. So you or dad never thought of this?" He shook his head no and became more serious.

"I need to talk to you about that actually. Your chakra pool is huge, but that doesn't mean you should abuse it like you did. Of course you're going to pass out after essentially using a B-ranked jutsu three-hundred times. I had to transfuse some of my chakra into you; otherwise you would still be out today. Forget that, you could have died!" Yuuki's eyes widened. All along, she really thought she was regulating herself, but she really did take it too far. Isami may have saved my life yesterday. A sad face told the world.

"I'm sorry. I guess I can be pretty stupid sometimes." She gave him a warm smile. "Thank you, Isami. You really are a good brother after all." Isami put his wolf mask on and made a hand seal.

"Tell it to the nuts." He kicked leaves out of nowhere and they swatted Yuuki in the face. It had the added perk of messing up her hair. Her face dead panned as she spit out a leaf.

"Piss me off enough and there won't be any! I can hold grudges for a long time, by the way." Yuuki dusted herself off and threw up the family sign. "Looks like I've got more food on the plate. I'll take it bite by bite." She summoned ten clones and gave them a nod. "This won't be so easy. Let's make it happen, people!"

OoOoOoOo

"Look this isn't the point. I was just winging it when I blindfolded you. I'm just trying to say fight without the sharingan right now!" Takeshi stood up slowly, spitting out blood. After all the abuse he was taking, he still held a confident smile. Lifting his arm forward, Takeshi taunted Konohamaru to come one more time. "Why don't you kids ever learn?"

Takeshi stood motionless, seemingly willing to take another blow. As his sensei swung, this time Takeshi dipped under it and threw an elbow into his side. What was more surprising was his left hand prevented the knee that was coming. Konohamaru jumped back with his eyes wide. Takeshi lifted his headband wide eyed himself. "Hey, it finally worked. Did I actually land a hit on you, Konohamaru-Sensei?"

"Alright, I'll admit you caught me off guard. Were you using the sharingan or something?" That was the only reasonable explanation. However, his student signaled no. "I don't believe you. You could have dodged the punch with luck, but you couldn't have stopped my knee without knowing it was coming. Would you care to enlighten me?"

Takeshi grinned as he looked to his feet. "I figured at first I'd try putting chakra into my feet. I've been doing it sense we started, but it wasn't really helping. However, when I tweaked with the amount I channeled, I began to feel pretty distinct vibrations when you attacked. Hit me long enough and of course I'm going to get used to those vibrations!" Konohamaru backed off and gave his words consideration. It was pretty close to jutsus that have been made to perform similar effects. However, to feel a shifting of weight using the ground vibrations wasn't something simply channeling chakra into your feet should tell you. This kid had some pretty good senses.

"That's quite intriguing. I assumed you'd use your ears if anything." Takeshi gave another pause of thought. "Would you care to give me more of a demonstration then?" Lowering the headband, Takeshi gave him a smile. This time, Konohamaru came faster and lead with a kick. Takeshi dipped his body and swung a counter-kick at his supporting leg. Konohamaru jumped it and blocked an incoming uppercut with a smile. A kick wouldn't be readable in the air. Takeshi himself smiled as he dipped under it again and grabbed his stationary leg once more. He pulled it and kept Konohamaru's momentum spinning. The only way to recover was to land on his hands and flip back to his feet several meters away. "Alright, how'd you block the kick in the air?" He was almost frustrated.

Takeshi raised his hand with a smirk. "I put some chakra in my hand to feel you're balance. Wasn't really sure it would work." Konohamaru smiled over Takeshi's innovative fighting style.

"I've got to admit you're starting to pull off blind fighting. I figured only highly tuned sensor types could do it." Takeshi lifted his headband and wiped the sweat off his face. "We've been doing this for a while." Looking up, they saw the sun getting ready to set. "I say we gather everyone and call it a day. We've got plenty of time to do this kind of stuff later."

OoOoOoOo

After the group was reformed, they retreated back to the hotel for the night. Konohamaru was quick to find Isami and continue the mission. All though his demeanor was slightly more focused than last night's, the fire was still burning inside him. This time, he allowed himself to remember that night.

OoOo

"Rasengan!" Thrusting his arm through the wall, Konohamaru was becoming frustrated. Guden had been using his prowess to easily navigate the walls and ground. He withdrew his arm and checked over his remaining team. Rekano was ready to protect Udon at a moment's notice. While Udon appeared to be in a fighting stance, he couldn't have been there mentally. Konohamaru clenched his fist in rage. He knew what needed to be done. "We're retreating! Udon, snap out of it, grab her, and run." He headed over to the group and twitched an eye at Rekano. Udon said nothing, but did exactly as he was told. Konohamaru gripped his staff tighter. "We've got sensors all around the place. He's trapped!"

A sword shot by his face, drawing blood from his cheek. "Like hell I'd let you leave!"

In a swift motion, Konohamaru crashed the rising man's skull with his staff and yelled, "Katon: Komakai kaki!" A small fire ball punched into the man and right into Rekano's river palms. Catching the dropped blade, Konohamaru impaled the man through the heart. After giving it a sharp twist, Konohamaru left it in the falling dead man. "Let's get out of here."

They quickly made their way to the exit. Udon propped himself against the entrance wall and collapsed. "Why?" Tears poured uncontrollably out of his eyes. All he could do was hold her tightly and beg for answers. Konohamaru faced away in shame as Rekano bowed his head in respect. A crowd of medical ninja began to approach them. As they pointed to Udon, Rekano noticed a hand coming out of the wall. He gathered water around his hands, but in no time, Guden was holding him hostage. Blood was still gushed out of the man. Explosive tags strung together wrapped around both of them as the man smiled.

"My dreams will be met by another. No sense in going down quietly!" Udon's eyes shot open before they were both obliterated in a massive explosion. Konohamaru dropped his brace, seeing Rekano's wall of water that saved everyone from the blast. Before Konohamaru completely broke sanity, he noticed the only thing remaining of his best friends were a charred Moegi and a battered headband.

OoOo

A fist planted itself into the wall. "How can there be nothing here!" They'd spent the better part of two hours overturning everything they could move. Not a trace of anything remained in the castle. Konohamaru struck his lighter and sat down. All though the cigarette was lit, he didn't really have much of an inclination to smoke it. "I'll find this man. Up until now, I swore he was dead." He chuckled to himself in a somber tone. "Will I really be redeemed catching this guy?" In his head, he could hear Moegi scolding him on starting such a nasty habit. He could also hear Udon telling him to be the leader and do what comes naturally. Konohamaru shed a calm smile.

"Hey, you're not going to believe this." Konohamaru looked up at Isami who still had his byakugan up and running.

OoOoOoOo

After several minutes of digging hundreds of meters underground, they reached a small room. It was filled with old books too worn out to read in the dark. Just the sheer distance underground the room shocked Konohamaru. "It doesn't make sense for this to be Guden's research. He would have either still been using it, or taken all of this." Using the flame of the lighter, Isami picked up a particularly large book and squinted.

"What if he had no idea of this place?" Konohamaru's eyes mimicked his inner shock when Isami showed him the book. "Do you know a Kuden Utsushi?"

"That answers the question. This is likely Guden's brother. The very brother we killed ten years ago." Both of them sat in silence as they looked over the large quantities of information. "I think we can call this a successful mission."

OoOoOoOo

"Hey, can we please have a mission? I'm dying here!" An exaggerating Datsu lay on the ground in Rekano's office. Team Seven were even itching for something else to do. Rekano sighed as he shuffled through a few papers.

"Here's a C-ranked mission. Apparently bandits have been giving caravans a difficult time. Some even claim to have seen demons raiding their goods. Go check it out, and quit pestering me." Datsu jumped up and could have danced. His excitement wasn't as contagious for everyone else. "Look Kaito, a C-ranked mission! This makes three for us now!" Kaito just nodded slightly, making Datsu less happy. "You could at least try to be enthusiastic about this…" With a pondering look on his face, he turned to Team Seven. "You're coming with us."

All of their eyes twitched at the audacity of the young man. Rekano sat up. "Well, what do you think? It's not often he's open to help. Five powerful genins should be fine for this mission." It wasn't long before Konohamaru agree with his old friend. "Besides, this will count as you're second C-ranked mission, right?" Yuuki might as well have been on Datsu's wavelength. In fact, every one of the genins seemed to be in a far better mood. Rekano and Konohamaru could only attempt to recall the days they looked forward to missions like the kids did. "I guess that settles it. If things turn out worse than you expected, do not engage. You hear me Datsu?"

Datsu grinned as he tightened his headband. "Yeah, yeah. We won't fight out of our league. I know the drill." The group mingled for a little bit before Datsu screamed out. "Yosh! Team Datsu departs to beat up a bunch of bandits!"

"I'll be able to find 'em quick with the byakugan, so it'll be nice and easy!" Yuuki pointed at her eyes and punched out a few invisible thugs. Noriko and Kaito said nothing, but they began walking out.

"You two are fueling each other's spaz side. They'll hear us before we even leave the village." Takeshi pocketed his hands as he stared Datsu down. The stare was returned as Datsu rubbed his head. Suddenly, Datsu punched his arm and grinned.

"As if that'll help them any! Quit being a sour puss and get pumped, damn it!" Takeshi glared at him for a minute before smirking. Yuuki couldn't help a smile, seeing they were starting to become 'rivals' like her uncle and Rekano were. With that, the remaining three ran out in a competitive manner.

Konohamaru laughed heartily at his students. "That sure made an annoying racket quickly! Nice call on that one, by the way."

Rekano stood and motioned his fingers to his mouth, as if to offer a smoke. Konohamaru nodded and they left his room. "I had a feeling you wanted to tell me a few things in private anyways." Konohamaru let out a sigh that seemed to confuse his rival. Suddenly, Konohamaru punched him in the arm and continued out the door chuckling. Rekano narrowed his eyes, rubbing his arm.

OoOoOoOo

"What are we looking at here, Temari?" Naruto approached a tired woman rubbing her eyes. She had been entrusted to doing the book worming on the journal they had received.

"It's definitely confirmed. This journal belonged to a man named Kuden Utsushi. In it, he has made several references to his brother, Guden Ustushi. So for starters, we have a full name of the man. However, most of his ranting is trying to find out exactly what they were." Naruto sat down, ready to hear her clarify on exactly what that meant. "Apparently, the first thing either of them remembers is waking up in a lab. It never says where this lab was, but it does suggest they were heavily genetically modified."

Naruto pounded his fist on the desk. "Orochimaru! It has to be." He began rubbing his temples. "Damn near everything bad in this world stemmed from that one man. He's been gone for over twenty years and his history still causes trouble to this day!"

Temari flipped the book over to show Naruto more. "It looks like they aren't far off of his ideals. Look here." She signaled him to read a passage.

"We've made steady progress: upon further study of our DNA, I can confirm it's very potent. I opted on gathering subjects and injected my DNA in them. We finally had one survivor out of one-hundred subjects. We offer them money, protection, anything their hearts desire, ultimately leading to their demise. However, this result is quite shocking; the subject that survived experienced a dramatic enhancement of his natural regeneration and something very exciting. It would appear adding my DNA to his spliced a kekkei genkai into his body. This particular subject already had two to start with. Maybe we are approaching this wrong. I believe I will inject my younger brother with this kid's DNA next."

"Now skip forward. This seems to be where the research was cut short." His eyes shifted through the text.

"Success is an understatement. After several studies, I was prepared to deem it a failed concept. My brother's DNA destroyed any invading DNA completely. However, when the subject focused his chakra and Guden remained in physical contact with him, his DNA seems to have invaded into our subjects DNA. Using this method, we may be able to incorporate every single release type into his genes. We have opposing DNA abilities, but no matter what becomes of him, he is still my brother. All I need to do is prime a subject with my DNA and he can tap into all their natures. We will become gods, achieving what the very man who allowed us to live ultimately could never do. Uchiha Madara, do you regret leaving us behind in your conquest?"

Naruto leaned back, knowing the gravity of the situation. The Guden he knew from that night was an extreme underestimation. "This information needs to be spread. We've got his motive, his origins, and his abilities. We can no longer afford to wait three years to stop this man. We'll wait for Isami to return before we branch out the information. He'll be able to spread the word securely so we don't risk rousing enemy suspicion."

OoOoOoOo

These aren't standard bandits ahead. I can't gauge them completely, but there's a lot. Isami sighed, noticing a couple clicks ahead; there were likely a few rouge ninja and a ton of bandits. Hopefully I won't need to get involved directly.

"Hey, come on!" Datsu crossed his arms behind his head and scoffed. "Can't you find them already? How far can those eyes see anyways?"

Yuuki flipped him off as she answered. "I can see around eight-hundred meters right now. We just need to keep moving."

Takeshi walked further ahead and smirked. "I've got to admit, I'm getting anxious as well. Hopefully we can take them out quickly without any trouble." The two boys began competing on who would walk in front.

Noriko and Kaito straggled behind. "Do you feel it, Noriko?" She nodded, looking forward.

"Something eerie is coming. This mission may prove difficult after all." He nodded in agreement.

"Wait, I found some. Woah, I found a lot!" The group froze and waited for her to continue analyzing. Sweat began to run down her face as she counted. "thirty…" Datsu was the only one to smirk. "Forty…fifty…" Now sweat began to run down his neck. "sixty…" She kept counting. The group just remained frozen. The numbers were stunning, and it was now more curiosity than anything that made her count on. "Ninety-two…that's all of them. Ninety-two enemies in the area!" There wasn't anyone among them able to lift their jaw. "It gets worse to! They have a few hostages!"

-Authors Note-

Feeling that tempo change yet? Cause it pumps me up every time I finish a chapter. Have a good day and thank you for reading! It means a lot, this being my 1st real story in all! Sorry for any Moegi and Udon fans out there. I personally just can't get over her strange hair and his snot, but whatever. It was kind of messed up the way they went, wasn't it?