Here's the new chapter. I know it's been a while, sorry about that. Had some stuff to do, and had a bit of a writing block. Good news is, I've figured out most of the problems I had and have the next few arcs planed out pretty well. Bad news is that this is going to be way longer than I originally expected it to, as I added some new plot points and developments, some out of necessity and others out of them just being cool ideas. But hopefully I'll be able to get back on schedule and bring this fic to a satisfying conclusion.


Soon after he'd stormed out of the Hokage Tower, he went straight home, ate some instant ramen he'd bought at a store earlier that day, and went to sleep. He hoped it would be enough to settle his thoughts. But he struggled to fall asleep, as countless thoughts invaded him, shaking him awake from his slumber constantly. But after a long struggle, he finally managed to fall into an uneasy slumber.

The next day, he found himself woken up by loud knocks on his from door, rings of his doorbell, and voices calling out his name.

He woke up groggy, and in his grumpy mood opened the door while still in his pajamas. "What do you want ?" he yelled, only to realize that it was Ino standing there. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I just woke up. What's up ?"

She'd been looking a little pissed, but calmed down and said "It's pretty late already. What were you doing ? Anyway, since you're back, we decided to have a team meeting. I came here to pick you up, since you ran off yesterday before I could talk to you about it. So hurry up and get ready."

He grumbled to himself as he got ready. Soon after, he set off along with Ino their their regular training ground. As per usual, Shikamaru was lazing about on the grass, looking up at the clouds. His sensei was sitting on the grass next to him while talking, and in her lap was a baby. A baby with beautiful red eyes like his sensei. When he got closer, she noticed him and turned away and grabbed onto his sensei's clothes.

His sensei noticed him as he approached, and carefully lifted the baby off of her lap and laid her on top of Shikamaru, where she sat while playing with his ponytail.

His sensei continued approaching him, and once she was close enough, she pulled him into a hug as she said "Welcome back, Naruto."

He smiled as he hugged her back, and replied "Yeah, I'm home." She pulled back, and introduced him to her daughter Mirai. And as he sat there, playing with her by making weird faces and showing off a few magic tricks he'd picked up, he swore an oath to himself to protect her and the rest of his team, so he could continue to enjoy these peaceful moments.


She supposed it was about time for something to happen. The Akatsuki had been quiet for over 3 years, and while there were signs of them acting in the background, it was about time for them to take the next step. But she hadn't expected it to take place in this way and this suddenly.

She'd received word from both Sunagakure and Kirigakure that they had been attacked by the Akatsuki. It had taken place at almost the exact same time. They'd successfully taken out both of the Kage and taken them away. Gaara being taken out was one thing, but Yagura as well ? However, Yagura had managed to take down one of the Akatsuki members attacking him, and the report from Suna mentioned one of them being injured. So hopefully they would be able to deal with them without too much trouble. Kirigakure had sent out a team already, so if they were lucky, there wouldn't be too much trouble.

The main question on her mind was regarding who to send. One obvious candidate had just returned, but there was a considerable risk with sending Naruto. While based solely on ability he was more than qualified, his jinchuriki status made the decision troublesome. According to Jiraiya's report, they'd had an encounter with the Fourth Mizukage, where Naruto had gotten to meet one of the few jinchuriki role models there were. Despite some disagreements, they'd gotten along well. So there was no question of his willingness to go. But what if he was too emotionally invested ?

She thought for a while, but couldn't be sure. Finally, she decided to take a leap of faith. She called Shizune and said "Bring the Konoha 12 and their leaders here." She paused for a moment, but continued "And also call for Sai." The former tool of Danzo had recovered considerably, but there were still problems. Perhaps being on a team would help.


Soon after he'd caught up with his team and just as he was in the midst of enjoying a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen with his team and Iruka, the messengers arrived, telling them to go to the Hokage Tower immediately. He frowned as they ran there. What had happened now ? When he arrived, Team Asuma was already there. He was interested in exchanging a few choice words with Asuma regarding his sensei, but chose to leave it for later. He tapped his foot irritatedly as he waited for whoever else had to arrive, but Team Guy and Team Kakashi arrived soon after.

Granny Tsunade started talking about the mission, and it's background. His mind shook when he heard that Yagura had been beaten. How was that possible ? Yagura was one of the strongest people he'd met. Even the Pervy Sage had been cautious about taking him on. What kind of monsters would be able to do this. He gritted his teeth as he focused on the briefing. She concluded her briefing by saying "And so, we need to send teams to both Kirigakure and Sunagakure. Team Kakashi and Team Asuma, you'll go to Suna. Team Kurenai and Team Guy, you'll go to Kiri. Understand the situation and rendezvous with any Shinobi sent out from the villages. Do you understand and accept the mission assigned to you ?"

He could hear the growl in his mouth as he answered "Hell yeah." He would make these Akatsuki bastards pay.


A/N

Hey guys. So a pretty normal chapter, just setting up the next arc. I mentioned a encounter between Naruto and Yagura, but I'm not sure where to flesh that out. I can include it in a flashback within this arc, or I can throw it in as a side story at the end of the arc, of I can just not do either and just show hints at what happened in bits and pieces throughout the story. What do you think ? I hope you guys enjoyed that, and stay tuned for the next one.