Opening - Rolling Star by Yui

X

"If we keep our guard up like this, they can't sneak-attack us. Get ready."

"Right!"

They didn't have to wait long before Naruto's fox-shaped chakra avatar opened its jaws wide, and Naruto aimed the tip of his sword at them from within. A Rasengan formed along the side of the blade, then grew as Naruto applied his wind affinity to it. Sasuke scowled up at the growing wind jutsu, fully forming his Susanoo to protect himself and Sakura. "Blaze Release: Flame Control." Sakura blinked in suprise as a wall of black flames rose up between them and Naruto.

"Wind Release: Rasenshuriken!" Naruto roared, and fired his most powerful jutsu. The attack expanded as it struck Sasuke's defense, but he was relieved to see that his black flames were being fed rather than extinguished by Naruto's wind.

"Sasuke-kun, behind you!" He turned to see Hinata within her Water Deity, about to let loose her equivalent jutsu. He winced, but raised another barrier of black flames that he hoped would catch this one as well.

"Water Release: Rasenyari!" she threw her jutsu, and it exploded as it struck his defense. With the elemental advantage over his flames, the Rasenyari's explosion tore through them and threw his Susanoo away, with him and Sakura still inside. The spectral warrior splashed along the surface of the swamp, and Sasuke sighed with relief when he realized his chakra construct was light enough to simply float above the mud.

"Dammit, we can't go on like this," Sakura groaned, climbing to her feet from where she lay on the smooth inside of Susanoo's armor. "Unless you've got a jutsu that can hit as hard as that, we should try to fight them at close range, where they can't throw stuff like that around. Plus, I need to get in close to use my taijutsu."

"Hn..." Sasuke commanded Susanoo to right itself, then thought in silence. I can't use Sharingan genjutsu, since they can both see through them. I don't think even Tsukuyomi would work... my Amaterasu can block Naruto's wind but not Hinata's water... My Susanoo can take a hit from Hinata's jutsu, but I don't know if it could take one from Naruto's...

"I have an idea, but you're not going to like it. Look into my eyes."

"Huh?" she turned, and Sasuke used Tsukuyomi on her instantly. Just over a second later, she nodded. "You're right, I don't like it, but I don't exactly have any better ideas." she glanced up, and pointed to where Naruto was forming another Rasenshuriken, and Hinata another Rasenyari. "Let's do it." Sasuke waited for Naruto and Hinata to fire their jutsu, then raised a barrier of black flames that surrounded Susanoo from all sides. "You know, if this doesn't work, we're screwed, right!? This plan bets everything on you and your Susanoo's physical strength!" she called over the sounds of the approaching jutsu.

"Hn," he nodded slightly, and banished his Susanoo. He and Sakura promptly plunged into the swamp far below, and he wrapped an arm around her waist before pouring all of his strength into his wings, using them to dive further down into the swamp.

To Naruto and Hinata, it looked as though Sasuke and Sakura had vanished entirely. They hesitated in their surprise, and Naruto called, "What the hell!?"

One of Susanoo's giant arms, covered entirely in mud, shot out of the swamp in front of Naruto and grabbed him. He cried out in surprise, and the rest of Susanoo began to emerge. Within its torso, Sasuke and Sakura floated with their eyes closed, covered from head to toe in chakra-laced mud. Sasuke raised his hands in the clone seal, and called without opening his eyes, "Lightning Clone Jutsu."

Six copies of him, completely clean in contrast to the real Sasuke, materialized and lunged toward Naruto. As expected, Hinata blurred into their path with an Empty Wind to protect Naruto, while Sasuke and Sakura took a moment to wipe the mud from their faces and open their eyes.

"Hn..." Sasuke hummed thoughtfully, sizing up his teammate. "The Sakura I knew before I left would've thrown a fit over being in this condition," he observed.

"Yeah, well, I grew up," she answered, watching Sasuke's clones engaging Hinata's taijutsu with their kenjutsu.

"That's true," he nodded, with his gaze noticeably roaming over her body.

"I," she paused and chuckled incredulously before smacking him halfheartedly, "I don't believe it! Jiraiya turned you into a pervert after all! You said you wouldn't let him corrupt you!" she reminded him.

"Jiraiya has nothing to do with it; it's all you," he answered. "Besides, I promised not to turn into a 'goofy pervert like him.' I'm not goofy, and I'm nothing like Jiraiya."

Sakura snorted, then turned her attention back to Naruto and Hinata. Two of Sasuke's clones had been dispelled, and Naruto had pulled free of Susanoo's grasp to help her with the other four. "Well, you can be as much of a perv as you want later, but for now-"

"You know, I think I'll hold you to that," he interrupted.

"D-Dammit Sasuke!" she raised a fist threateningly, although her normally intimidating image was ruined by the obvious blush on her cheeks. Sasuke smiled, which only served to infuriate her more. "Get serious! This is your Chuunin Exam, CHA!"

"Hn," he chuckled. "You have a point; let's go." Susanoo's armor opened up to let him join the battle and attack Naruto, shortly followed by Sakura.

Dashing along Susanoo's outstretched upper right arm, Sasuke attacked Naruto with kenjutsu. His strength with the second stage of his Cursed Seal was close enough to that of Naruto's Version Three that he was able to parry Naruto's attacks and strike back effectively with his own. Although Naruto was faster and more skilled, Sasuke's Sharingan allowed him to predict Naruto's moves just enough to keep up.

Meanwhile, Sakura matched her aggressive chakra-enhanced taijutsu against Hinata's Gentle Fist, forcing her to keep up her defense rather than unleashing her own powerful taijutsu. Knowing that she had the upper hand at the moment, Sakura grinned and tucked her left hand behind her back, surprising and confusing Hinata. She pulled off her weapons pouch and tossed it to one of Sasuke's clones, who nodded in understanding and took to the sky.

Hinata's gaze followed the clone for a moment, but her attention quickly snapped back to Sakura as the pinkette closed in with her fist raised. Rather than deflecting the blow with her own taijutsu, Hinata simply activated her barrier armor and let it strike her collarbone. The armor, backed up by the inherent durability of her senjutsu-enhanced body, protected her. As she began to skid backward from the force of the punch, she grabbed Sakura's outstretched arm to put her own superhuman strength into play, throwing Sakura effortlessly off of Susanoo's arm.

Another of Sasuke's clones took off, catching her long before she would've hit the surface of the swamp below. He slowed gradually to a stop before soaring upward again and flying into Susanoo's torso, which opened up to allow him entry. The clone took control of Sasuke's chakra avatar, which up until now had been motionless, swinging Susanoo's arm to send the real Sasuke, Naruto, and Hinata flying along with the two remaining clones in the battle.

Sasuke used his Cursed Seal wings to take control of his fall and hover in place while the two falling clones dispelled themselves. Shortly after this, Naruto and Hinata shot down through the surface of the swamp, but they emerged after only a brief hesitation, forming their respective chakra avatars.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder at Sakura, who nodded from within Susanoo. He turned back to Naruto and Hinata to announce, "We've completed our mission! The Flying Raijin kunai is outside this seal!"

Hinata's eyes widened, and she called, "Naruto-kun, he's telling the truth! That must be why that clone took off with Sakura's pouch!"

Within the jaws of his black fox aura, Naruto lowered his sword and dispelled the partially-formed Rasengan on it. "Alright, if that's true then you passed fair and square. We're done here."

"Hn." Sasuke waited for Naruto and Hinata to deactivate the Swamp of the Underworld before he dissolved his Susanoo, gradually lowering Sakura to the ground while his last lightning clone faded away. "That went well."

"Yeah, I guess," Sakura shrugged, prompting a few drops of mud to drip from her formerly pristine white leather jacket. "But what am I supposed to do about this?"

"Oh, that's easy," Hinata replied as she began phasing out of Sage Mode. She stepped toward Sakura and laid a hand on the slimmer girl's shoulder. In less than a second, all of the mud clinging to Sakura spilled away, leaving her completely clean. "There you go."

"Thanks," Sakura smiled. "I don't even wanna know how hard it would've been to clean myself off without help like that."

"Hn," Sasuke murmured, drawing attention to the fact that he was similarly covered in mud. Hinata quickly made her way to him and cleaned him off with a second pulse of her chakra. "You kicked our asses," he observed bluntly, then turned toward the exit of the pocket dimension as he deactivated his Cursed Seal. "So... I guess that means you were expecting us to get the kunai out of here without beating you. Isn't that right?"

"Personally, I was expecting you to fight us and lose," Naruto admitted, with his chakra cloak already gone. "Passing this exam didn't actually require you to get away with the kunai. It was just a scenario we set up to see what you were capable of, ya know?"

"And? Did we pass?"

"Well... I didn't really get to see much of your offensive abilities, but that chakra avatar of yours tanked through my Rasenshuriken, and Hina-chan's Rasenyari didn't actually damage you either; it just pushed you away. And this time, you actually had a plan, unlike your last Chuunin Exam. Last time, you kinda sucked."

"...Hn."

"So yeah, you pass. You're a Chuunin now, Sasuke. Congrats."

X

Suigetsu had been utterly lost for what felt like days, in a sea of unfamiliar faces and places, but now at last he caught a glimpse of a way out. Specifically, he caught a glimpse of movement above him and looked up to see a girl jumping across the street above him.

Even noting her unusual outfit, a black spandex and brown leather bodysuit with a mask attached to cover half of her face, and the fact that she was rather cute, he probably wouldn't have been so interested. She was a ninja, they had a tendency to jump unrealistically large distances when they had to get somewhere fast. It just wasn't a big deal.

What really caught Suigetsu's eye, however, was the positively massive black falchion she carried on her back without a sheath. That sword... could she maybe...? He grinned with anticipation and leapt up to the same rooftop as the girl, hoping to catch up to her. "Hey! Chick with the BFS!"

"Huh?" she turned, gave him a blank look, and sized him up quickly. She immediately noted the white longsword strapped to his hip. I don't know him... "Who..." she shook her head. "What can I help you with?"

"That sword! You learned kenjutsu from Zabuza Momochi, right?" his grin broadened. "Can you tell me where he is?"

Tenten blinked. "Uh, no... I didn't learn from Zabuza. See, this sword is lightened by a seal that manipulates gravity. It's lighter than your average greatsword, so I can use it with more traditional two-handed kenjutsu moves. I didn't need any special training." she examined him more closely. "Hold on..." she drew the falchion from her back, startling him, but she simply held out the weapon. "Take this for a second; maybe give it a couple swings."

"...Sure..." Suigetsu acquiesced glumly. Great. Now I'm back to square one. How the hell am I gonna find Zabuza in this place? He took the sword and held it tightly with both hands, swinging it lightly through the air. "So if you don't know where Zabuza is... maybe you know someone who does?"

"I never said I don't know where he is. I said he didn't train me." she took the weapon back. "You have a weird weapon affinity, did you know that? You need something even bigger than Umiyou here, and you won't even be using it to cut, stab or bludgeon your opponent. I've never seen any weapon like what you need... it's confusing as hell..."

"So you do know where he is?" he asked hopefully, clearly single-minded in his goal.

Tenten sighed. "Yeah. He set up a kenjutsu dojo right across the street from the hospital. He's been training our ninja rather than taking missions himself."

Suigetsu laughed. "Perfect! That's great; exactly what I was hoping for!" he chuckled again. "And of course he'd need to be close to the hospital; why the hell didn't I think of that? This is the Demon of the Bloody Mist we're talking about! Thanks, see ya later!"

Like that, the annoying white-haired kid was gone, leaving Tenten to sigh in relief. "That guy was... annoying..."

Meanwhile, Suigetsu leapt over the rooftops away from her, aimed directly at the hospital with a broad, gleeful grin. Zabuza Momochi... one of the only two living Swordsmen of the Mist, and the only one who isn't a missing-nin. The best possible kenjutsu sensei for me in the whole world... and as an added bonus, his Kubikiri Bouchou should be with him!

He stopped a few minutes later on the roof of Konoha's hospital, glancing around at the buildings across the street. It took him a few moments, but he spotted the dojo and lunged down toward it immediately. Without a moment's hesitation, he slipped through the front door and looked around.

The dojo certainly met his expectations. Immediately upon opening the door, he was greeted by a very large, open room with a floor covered in white tatami mats. Several of these mats bore dull red bloodstains that looked as though someone had halfheartedly tried to clean them off. The walls were dark blue, almost black, and the lighting in the room was a bit dim.

At the far end of the room, resting on a rather bulky stand, Kubikiri Bouchou gleamed beautifully. It looked freshly oiled, in fact. Suigetsu's eyes went wide and gleamed, as he stepped toward it without thinking. He actually got halfway to it before a blade touched the nape of his neck lightly. He shivered in fear, but also because the gentle touch of the cold blade tickled a bit.

"...Z-Zabuza... sensei...?"

"Zabuza-sama left a few minutes ago," came a calm voice, firm but lacking any killing intent. "He only mentioned one student from before we met, and you don't look anything like his current disciples. Who are you?"

"I... I'm Suigetsu Hozuki," he breathed. "My older brother was Mangetsu Hozuki, one of the Seven Swordsmen along with Zabuza... I only had a few lessons with the Seven, but I'm pretty good now. I was just hoping to learn Zabuza's kenjutsu since I heard he was here..."

"Hm..." The blade left the back of his neck. "I'm Haku Yuki, and I suppose you could say I'm his adopted son. I mistook you; I thought you were about to steal Zabuza-sama's sword."

Suigetsu turned, and sized up the young man who could've killed him a moment ago. He had long, silky black hair and unusually pretty features, enough for him to qualify as a 'bishounen' but not enough that he actually looked like a girl. The blade that had nearly taken Suigetsu's life was not a sword of any kind, but a simple kunai.

Then he clued in to what Haku had actually said. "...Son of a bitch! I've been looking for him all freaking day, and you're telling me I could've caught up to him if I'd gotten here a few minutes earlier!?"

"You can still catch up to him," Haku answered calmly. "He's on his way to meet with the Hokage."

Suigetsu promptly turned and ran out of the dojo so fast that he turned blurry to Haku's eyes, almost as though he'd used a rudimentary movement jutsu. At least he knew where the Hokage's office was already; the Genin Academy and the office at the top of it were both hard to miss. But I've gotta hurry. If Zabuza gets into that meeting with the Hokage, I won't be able to get to him until afterward. Plus, I might lose track of him again... I'm getting sick of running all over Konoha looking for him...

He heard several voices arguing lowly through the Hokage's open window, and he listened for a moment to confirm that Zabuza wasn't among them before making his way to the entrance of the Academy proper and quickly moving through the hallways. The school was out of session and the classrooms were empty, but the doors were shut and locked. Of course, this wouldn't have stopped certain imaginative pranksters from slipping smoke bombs into a few teachers' drawers, but at least the staff was trying.

Suigetsu rounded a corner, and his eyes lit up with excitement when he spotted Zabuza at last. The former Kiri Jounin was still wearing his old village's colors, a pair of dark navy pants and a slim, sleeveless shirt, both with lighter blue pinstripes. He wore a mask over his lower face as usual, but now it was of the same blue fabric. He was wearing a Konoha headband on black cloth as a belt, and he left his arms bare.

"Hey, Zabuza-sensei!" he called, just before the older swordsman looked up at him. Zabuza looked unamused and annoyed, but not outright angry which was a good sign.

"Huh," the Demon of the Mist grunted through his mask. "You look familiar, but you're definitely not one of my students. What do you want?"

"It's me," he began to clarify. "Suigetsu Hozuki. I'm Mangetsu's brother!"

"...Ah. Right; the teeth should've tipped me off that you're from Kiri," he observed, then glanced down at the white-hilted arming sword on the younger man's hip. "You still haven't told me what you want."

"I, uh..." he forced a hopeful grin. "I came all this way to learn kenjutsu from you!"

Zabuza remained silent for a few seconds. "...Is that so?" Suigetsu saw the outline of a vicious grin under his mask. "Well... I've got time to kill. Let's see if you're any good."

The next instant, a curved steel blade sliced through the air just in front of his eyes, and Suigetsu's heart rate doubled as the breeze struck him. He yelped, but quickly reacted by drawing his own blade and leaping back a few paces. He sized up Zabuza, who was wielding a katana with a plain, undecorated black hilt. He held it in much the same way he was known to wield Kubikiri Bouchou, but the lighter weapon sacrificed reach and power for agility. His stance was firm but not forced and rigid; and he seemed calm.

"Lemme tell you something, kid. The last two students I trained one-on-one were Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki. Each of them mastered one of my own personal jutsu. My special killing intent..." the ethereal likeness of a purple-faced demon flickered in the air around Zabuza, and Suigetsu shuddered, "...and the Empty Wind."

Zabuza vanished to reappear on Suigetsu's right, and he only barely managed to put his bone blade between himself and Zabuza's steel one. "H-Holy shit-"

"So, both of them impressed me. They caught my eye and showed me their potential, then went on to fulfill that potential. You, though..." Zabuza lashed out several more times, pressing Suigetsu back through the hallway, "you don't seem like anything special yet. Change my mind."

The white-haired boy raised his white sword, gritting his teeth and striking back. The arming sword had room enough for both hands on its hilt, although it seemed better suited to one-handed kenjutsu. Still, it was agile enough in his grip. He swung his weapon powerfully, aiming to shock Zabuza's grip on his own sword. The older swordsman sprang easily away, showing no signs of whether Suigetsu's attempt had been successful.

Suigetsu took up a firm stance of his own, holding the arming sword high over his head with both hands. Zabuza drew closer with his own sword held before him precisely, waiting for his junior's next attack. Suigetsu flicked the tip of the blade into the ceiling above, slicing into it with a loud smacking sound. Zabuza glanced up and moved his blade to block a downward strike, but that strike never came. Instead Suigetsu let his left hand leave the sword's hilt and lashed out with his right arm fully outstretched, grazing Zabuza's ribs with the tip of his blade.

Zabuza vanished again, leaving Suigetsu glancing around the hallway warily. He was only slightly distracted by the sight of Zabuza's blood staining the tip of his arming sword, which brought a proud smirk to his face.

"Eight points."

That smirk vanished rather quickly.

"Larnyx. Spine. Lungs. Liver."

He shivered, suddenly very aware of how each of these places on his body were protected only by his shirt, which by now was damp with his cold sweat.

"Jugular vein. Subclavian artery. Kidneys."

He knew what was coming next, and it terrified him. Zabuza's voice was constantly in motion, and he couldn't turn fast enough to catch a glimpse of the older man.

"Heart."

Zabuza appeared with a blur of motion from no given direction, holding his sword with only one hand now. "Which of them should I strike, Suigetsu Hozuki?"

Suigetsu charged with a roar, desperate to shake off his fear. He consoled himself by musing that Zabuza could have killed him without revealing his presence, which meant that he wasn't seriously trying to kill him. Probably... maybe... hopefully.

So he went on the offensive, as fiercely as he possibly could. Rather than aiming his sword at Zabuza himself, he struck with all his might at the katana itself. His mind was working mostly on instinct, but there was a bit of reason behind it. He judged by the poor, generic quality of the katana's fittings that its blade was poorly made as well, especially since Zabuza was still using kenjutsu more suited to Kubikiri Bouchou. He also reasoned that since Zabuza had produced the blade seemingly from nowhere, it was likely just a backup weapon sealed somewhere on his person.

Fortunately for him, he was right. Even more fortunately for him, Kimimaro was truly a master of his clan's bone manipulation. His ancestors had used their Shikotsumyaku to carefully shape fine weapons and armor that matched or exceeded the quality of the era's steel weapons, and although this arming sword had been made for him in the heat of the moment, it was still a well-made sword of hard, dense bone.

Zabuza's katana, on the other hand, was not a masterwork of the Kaguya Clan, not by a long shot. Each of Suigetsu's aggressive blows dented the metal, and after about two dozen such strikes, the katana finally decided it had had enough, and snapped in two.

Finally presented with an opening, Suigetsu roared once more and aimed to stab the Demon of the Mist. Zabuza vanished with an Empty Wind to preserve himself, but reappeared only a few paces backward where he then dropped the remains of his katana.

Neglecting to mention that he had six such blades sealed into his belt, Zabuza calmly held up a hand to indicate that he wanted Suigetsu to stop. Wide-eyed and panting, Suigetsu lowered his blade warily.

"That's more like it," he acknowledged with a nod. "You don't fight like Mangetsu at all... he was always calm in a fight. You though, you give yourself mostly over to instinct, tempered with just a little bit of logic. If you learn to do it properly, and get a better weapon, you might not be half bad. Not as good as Naruto, but I'll take what I can get."

"So... you'll teach me, Zabuza-sensei?"

"Maybe. No promises; it depends on how my meeting with Naruto goes."

"Then let's see how it goes," Naruto called from the doorway to his office, drawing the attention of both former Kiri-nin.

Zabuza quickly strode down the hall and into the Hokage's office, as the man himself took his seat behind his desk. Glancing to his left and right, Zabuza noted the presence of Tsunade Senju, Danzou Shimura, the Kazekage, and Tenten of the Fractured Flame. However, he quickly disregarded them as he knelt before the Hokage's desk, bowing his head low. "Hokage-sama. I understand why this request would seem unreasonable with my reputation, and I also know that I haven't taken a mission in two years, but please. Send me on the mission to Taki."

Collectively, all eyes in the room went wide except Danzou's. The old man smiled slightly and threw in, "It's a start, meager though it may be." Tsunade shot him a glare, one that he seemed to enjoy ignoring.

Naruto collected himself. "Zabuza, your only known interaction with Yagura is when you tried to assassinate him nine years ago. Why should I send you of all people to escort him to Konoha?"

"...May I speak frankly, Hokage-sama?"

"Please do. I'm probably not gonna understand if you don't," Naruto admitted.

Zabuza looked up with a steely gaze. "You don't have even the slightest shred of an idea what really happened between myself and Yagura. It would take far too long for me to tell the whole story here, but I can tell you this much. I helped Yagura become the Fourth Mizukage, and I only tried to kill him because he was under Sharingan genjutsu. Specifically, Madara Uchiha's genjutsu."

"Technically this man in the spiral mask, Tobi," Tsunade spoke up, "isn't actually Madara Uchiha. But that doesn't exactly make Zabuza's story any less believable."

"Hm..." Naruto pondered this. "Alright. The team is gonna be led by me anyway, so I'll be there to personally stop either of you two from killing each other... plus, I get the feeling you're telling the truth. You'll have to give me all the details on the way to Yagura's hideout."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Naruto smirked. "So there's one more," he pointed to Zabuza while looking at Danzou. "The Demon of the Mist. Are you happy now, Danzou?"

"Not in the slightest," the old man replied firmly. "This is a golden oppurtunity for Konoha to show off the full extent of its might. You should be taking all of our most powerful ninja into Taki, to crush Akatsuki's agents and show Taki what we are truly capable of. I won't be pleased with a team of any less than twenty Konoha-nin."

"You're just saying the same lines over again, Danzou," Tsunade growled. "It's out of the question! Taki is our ally and we're not going to the Land of Waterfalls to intimidate our allies!"

"Your mentality seems to be that drawing one sword keeps another in its sheath," Gaara observed, "but we intend for all of the ninja villages to draw our swords together against a common enemy. If we start using scare tactics on each other, as you're suggesting, then the Five Kage Summit will be a disaster."

"This idealism is foolish and childish," Danzou replied. "The ninja villages will never unite like that, no matter what you do. And they certainly won't be guided by such a gentle hand."

"Enough," Naruto cut in. "I've decided, and my decision is absolutely final." All eyes turned to him, and he went on. "I will lead a small team of powerful ninja, leaving plenty others to defend this village. I won't take every single one of our strongest fighters, because doing so would leave Konoha itself exposed."

Danzou considered this, then nodded. "And who, exactly, will you be taking?"

"For starters, I'll be leading the team along with Hinata. I'll be taking Zabuza, Sakura, and all of Taka excluding Itachi Uchiha. He's going to stay here; in fact I'm leaving him in charge of the village while I'm gone." those present were surprised by this, but none were concerned. "Taki's Jinchuuriki, Fuu, will meet up with us in the Land of Waterfalls. And... I'm still deciding whether or not to bring Gaara and Tenten..." he glanced to the two of them as he said this.

"I strongly recommend it," Danzou interjected. "Even though Taki is allied with us as you say, a team of such powerful ninja including both the Hokage and Kazekage will certainly intimidate Akatsuki. It may or may not have a similar effect on Taki and the other hidden villages, depending on how we act diplomatically. Meaning that if you do intend to portray a friendly image to them, you can, although I personally advise against it."

"Hm..." Naruto waited a few more moments, then nodded. "Alright. We'll take Gaara and Tenten..." he turned back to them, "...assuming the two of you have no objections. Gaara, I obviously have no authority over you, and Tenten, you've been acting under his command in exchange for Temari staying here and taking missions for Konoha. You're essentially a Suna-nin now."

"...I think we should go," Gaara decided.

"I'll have to be careful how I use Umiyou," Tenten mused, "But if I play my cards right I should manage. I'm in."

"For what it's worth, Hina-chan and Yagura both have exceptionally powerful water jutsu. If you start a forest fire, we should be able to put it out," he consoled her. "Now..." he closed his eyes. "I've scheduled a meeting with Fuu and Choumei in about two minutes. I'm going to meditate into the Tailed Beast Dimension."

"You have the Nine-Tails sealed inside you again?" Danzou mused aloud.

Although it was a rhetorical question, Naruto replied, "Yeah. The shield I had him sealed in was gradually being corroded by his chakra, even though he was actively trying not to strain the seal. It seems like a human vessel really is the only thing that works for the Bijuu with more than four tails."

He fell silent then, and what little noise was left around him faded completely over a span of around four seconds.

After that, he opened his eyes to behold a world with a floor of pearly white porcelain, and with white mist laced with pale colors gradually obscuring everything beyond a certain small radius around him. He could, however, see far enough to note Kurama towering behind him with a broad, fanged grin.

"Yo, Kurama," he greeted coolly. "You've been pretty quiet lately."

"To you, maybe," Kurama continued to bare his teeth cheerfully, "but that's because I've been in here, meeting up with the other Bijuu. It's been nice to catch up with them... Gyuuki's a lot more open and cheerful than I remember, even when otousan was still alive."

"That's good," Naruto answered honestly, then noted the approaching sound of buzzing insect's wings. "What was Choumei like, back in the day?"

"Me?" came a happy, outspoken voice. "I was quiet and boring. Nothing like I am now!" The Seven-Tails landed, stilling her six massive, orange and green wing-tails and settling her grey-armored body close to the floor of the dimension with surprising ease. "Tell him, Fuu!"

"How the hell should I know?" a young, green-haired woman in a lavender miniskirt and halter-top, both with mesh armor underneath, slid down along Choumei's shell to land in a crouch beside the Seven-Tails. "You've been peppy for as long as I can remember, which is kinda impressive considering the situation you've been in for... what? A hundred years now?"

"More like ninety," Choumei admitted.

"Still!" Fuu smiled. "I'm impressed. If it was me, I'd be pissed off at the whole world by now."

"Yeah, you've got it so lucky... Make the most of it, girl. You're not immortal like I am, so have as much fun as you can, while you can!"

"You say that all the time," Fuu pointed out.

"I gotta drive the point home," Choumei protested.

Naruto hesitantly cleared his throat, drawing their attention back. "Sorry to interrupt, but I did call you here for a reason, ya know..."

"Right!" Fuu nodded quickly. "Okay, Taki ninja patrol the Land of Waterfalls in one of two ways depending on the size of their group. Smaller ones, groups of any less than ten, tree-leap through the canopy because moving that way is faster. But it also puts them closer to the sun, which means smaller teams usually wear lighter green shouzoku to absorb less sunlight."

"Yeah, I know how warm it gets," Naruto admitted. Sensing Fuu's curiosity, he went on, "Hina-chan and I spent most of our honeymoon there; we stayed for almost a month. So... what about larger groups; what do they do?"

"...Groups of more than ten travel on the forest floor, which is a bit slower, but worth it because so little sunlight reaches the ground under Waterfall's rainforests. Teams like that can wear darker green for camouflage, and although the air itself is still warm, the lack of sunlight means it's easier to stay cool. There are downsides though... there are many different kinds of venomous insects thriving on the forest floor, and although medical ninjutsu can counterract most of these poisons, it's still something to watch out for, especially when you're asleep."

"I see..."

"Yeah. That's why small and large teams organize their camps so differently. A team in the trees can just tie some sleeping bags to the branches and fall asleep like that, but on the ground we need special barrier ninjutsu that wards off most poisonous insects, otherwise you wake up covered in 'em. The one we use now is actually really thin and fragile; what it does is emit a sound frequency that annoys everything that can hear it, namely insects. But even if they somehow manage to ignore the sound, the barrier itself blocks them. Because it's so thin, though, the ninja sleeping inside won't have trouble breaking it to get out if he has to move in a hurry."

"Hm..." Naruto quickly counted the names in his head. "Not counting you, we'll be taking a team of ten shinobi, but when we leave there'll be twelve of us counting you and Yagura."

"You guys are gonna want to come through the treetops," Fuu replied firmly. "It's a more forgiving environment and it lets you move faster. On top of that, you guys don't actually have the barrier ninjutsu we use to ward off the insects, and although you could make do with a simple, solid barrier, it still seems like you'd be better off in the canopy."

"Plus," Choumei threw in, "the sound of those barriers drives me nuts too."

"It's settled then," Naruto nodded. "We'll come through the canopy. What exactly are we going to need in that environment?"

"That's simple. You should bring lightweight sleeping bags that you can strap down against a tree limb or trunk, and ideally they should be waterproof. When it rains in Waterfall, it pours." Naruto nodded. "As I said, you should wear green uniforms for camouflage, and they should be thin, breathable fabric too, so you don't overheat. It'd be stupid to wear anything heavy, like that leather coat," she pointed at his chest, "So leave it behind."

"Understood," Naruto nodded. "Anything else?"

"...No, I think that's it. You don't need to bring any special ninja tools, but I'd recommend that you have at least one medic-nin. There are a few different species of venomous snakes who live in the canopy, and even though the population is pretty sparse, you might still step on one. Most of 'em have reflexes good enough to bite a ninja's ankle before he jumps to the next tree, and I think there are... three different species with lethal poisons. On the off chance one of your ninjas gets a snake bite, have a skilled medic take a look right away. But that's about it; that's all the preparation you'll need."

"Thanks, Fuu." Naruto gave a broad, foxy grin. "We should be setting out real soon."

"Good luck!" she grinned back, and waved as he faded out of the Tailed Beast Dimension. "He's a pretty nice guy," she mused aloud. "I wonder if this guy Yagura is anything like him..."

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