Chapter Four; Leaf to Earth Land of Fire; Hidden Leaf; Hokage Office

"You called, lady hokage?" Spoke Anko stepping into the office, Naruto stepping in behind with his hands clasped behind his head a carefree smile dancing across his lips "Ah yes; come in and take a seat." Tsunade says without looking up from her paperwork. The two-take said seat as their commander continues to squiggle on paperwork leaving the duo to sit in silence. Naruto were bouncing his knees, having a silent conversation, hand gestures shared between the two which soon caught the attention of the commander-in-chief of the hidden leaf.

"…what was that?" Tsunade cutting into the silent conversation, unable to decipher their hand signals, gaining the duo's attention "Ma'am?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow "Those hand signs." Pointing to the duo "They aren't the current Anbu signs."
"Classified." Naruto's deadpan response causing a manicured blond eyebrow rise "I'm the Hokage." A shrug from the pair "So?" they both responded, "Nothing is classified to me." Tsunade responded with narrowed eyes only to receive two more shrugs "You called us here, Lady Hokage? What do you need?"
"Well, I've been asked by the Anbu commander to ask if you could possibly accept additional personnel…"
"For what purpose?" Anko questioned, the duo's eyes narrow with all playfulness between the two vacating immediately, "Team cooperation, joint exercises, and training…"
"No." Anko snapped, "…and why not?" Tsunade snapped with a glare, yet the team leader did not yield a micrometre "Our teamwork is flawless, trying to intrude on our dynamics will only be a detrimental factor."

"What if you need additional members? A mission that requires more hands?" Tsunade proposes elbow upon her armchair, fist supporting her head, only to get a snort in response "Even if Nar wasn't a one-man army…" Anko glancing to her side "…then we could call in the reser…" she paused upon realising the slip, an eyebrow raised again "You have reserves?" Anko looks away from her subordinate, who was glaring daggers at her "They were decommissioned. Thus, of no concern." Naruto spoke slowly, coldly, and with annoyance "If they are of your calibre then…"
"They were decommissioned for a reason." Naruto snapping out, glaring at the hokage "We do not need them back. They have done more than enough for this damn village." His voice falling into a growl which actually had Tsunade wide-eyed and slightly fearful at his attitude and wording.

Silence.

Tsunade's gaze follows from one to the other, Naruto was clearly irritated and somewhat angry whilst Anko looked guilty perhaps a bit sorrowful. She sighs before turning to Hokage mode "I'm sorry but I want to know who these 'Reserves' are and yes…" her glare locks on to Naruto's, the challenge was fierce, and she wouldn't back down even though as it dragged on the hairs on her neck raised as she actually felt somewhat intimidated. "…this is an order." Those words caused a growl from Naruto, a guttural deep growl of clear hostile intent which clearly advertised his discontent at such a move. Anko's hand arrived in Naruto's field of view which caused him to fall silent "Fine." Anko states gaining the hokages attention "Yakumo and Illia Kuruma, genjutsu mistresses."
"Kiba's gonna kill you." Naruto whispers with a glare at his team captain, Tsunade writing down the names "Hinata Hyūga was trained but never fielded." Anko continued, purposely ignoring the death glare from her little subordinate "Same as her little sister."
"Are you serious? The two clan heirs?"
"Yes." Anko confirmed "The Hyūga elders seem to have caught wind of a 'undisclosed training program' which several clan heirs had been drafted into." The snake mistress shrugs "Hanabi was halfway trained. She was the youngest member of the group of us." Naruto growled out, "We promised thus not happening."
"Save it!" Tsunade snapped only for Naruto's canine like eyes narrow harder, killing intent rolling over her in response "Daiski…?" Anko mentions somewhat hesitantly "M.I.A." Naruto responds gaining both ladies attention which caused him to growl "It's obvious isn't it?" his scowl still firmly in place. Anko took a moment before she caught on "Right! How could I forget?" slapping her head with her palm.

"What do you mean?" Tsunade clearly confused as the trenchcoated Jonin to glance from Naruto to the Hokage "…how many Hatake's are in the village?"
"Just one? Why?"
"Three actually." Naruto whispered with his gaze falling to his lap "What?" Spoke Tsunade incredulously "Hatake's have unique white chakra, aligned heavily with lightning chakra." Naruto explained calmly which was common knowledge "We had two in our ranks…" Anko explained which caused Tsunade's surprise to reach her face "One never came home though…" whispered Naruto, his fists clenched. "So, what does this have to do with this Daiski?" the hokage spoke softly, understanding the emotional state of the blonde shinobi before her "After our reactivation…" Naruto spoke up glaring at hokage "…I searched out for our old friends. Daiski is currently MIA." He breathes out hard "The trail Shika and I followed went cold, its unknown whether or not he's alive or not but if he is…" a shrug finished his dialogue.

"Phera and Kila Saurtobi." Anko getting back on topic "Kila is a chunin and Phera resigned after the Sand/Sound invasion, works in a clothing store on the southside." Naruto explained calmly, "They're seals remain active?" Anko questioned looking to him and he nods to confirm they were "Hawk, Herron. Gather all those mentioned in here and any guardians that request it." and immediately two shimmers in the back of the room. "They were decommissioned for a reason." Naruto reiterated, gaze still hard as diamonds. "Stand down, Naruto." Anko ordered and said teen turned to the vista out the window.

Twenty minutes later.

A double knock "Enter." and a crowd of people enter the office of the Hokage, a number of empty chairs before them "Good, you're all here." Tsunade spoke out as members of the Hyūga, Kuruma, and Sarutobi in attendance. "Why are we summoned, Lady Hokage?" spoke Hiashi Hyūga, clan head of the Hyūga clan with both his daughters before him, all three equally as confused "Yes, Lady Hokage, my two own clansmen aren't shinobi." Unkai Kurama, current clan leader of the Kuruma clan. Behind the fussing two was Asuma Sarutobi, his two clansmen at his back "I will explain everything if you would allow me to address you all after…" a sudden privacy barrier went up "…this room is secure."

Raised eyebrows from the two leaders, a wary eye around the room from the Elite Jonin Sarutobi was now on edge. Tsunade looked to Hanabi with a smirk "So, Hanabi Hyūga…" said Genin looking back at her leader blanked faced "Lady Hokage?"
"May I ask about that special camp you attended when you were…?"
"I don't know what you are talking about, Lady Hokage." Hanabi's automatic response, her Hyūga mask on full. Yet for some reason, the hokage's smirk was unsettling "No need to keep up the act…" a new voice sets the room on edge. On reflex, two of the three Hyūga activated their dojutsu, a pair of trench knives in Asuma's hands, his two clansmen in defensive formation "Stand down all of you." spoke Tsunade gaining the rooms attention. Abruptly two black masked Anbu appear either side of the Hokage, standing sentry with the Fox mask looking to Hanabi "We've been reactivated, Zeta Raccoon." The younger of the two Hyūga sisters broke out with a massive grin "ME TOO?!"
"If it was up to me…" Fox shrugs "…I wouldn't." this interaction confused many, especially from her clan head "Good thing it isn't up to you then, Zeta Fox." Tsunade mentioned with a smirk to which Fox nodded as Zeta Snake tosses a scroll to the youngest Hyūga, who promptly caught it and was clearly giddy.

"I'm confused." Spoke Hiashi as he watched these strange Anbu talking with his youngest daughter who was almost vibrating with excitement as she opened the scroll, inspecting its contents "What is about to be revealed now is an S-class secret…" Tsunade began, gaining the rooms attention once more "…thus, none of you are to repeat what you hear."
"Umm…" spoke Yakumo with a raised hand, as if in school "…we are not a shinobi, so why we…?"
"That will be explained upon you all agreeing to this." Tsunade responded to which they all nodded, some more reluctant than others.

Another pulse of chakra flows across the room's boundaries, the room growing dark as even the window darkened as a very powerful privacy barrier came into existence. "Now then…" Tsunade interlocking her fingers in front of her mouth, eyes narrowing "…I suggest you all take a seat. This will take some time to explain."
"What will?" Asuma questioned yet it wasn't Tsunade wasn't the one to respond but rather Hanabi "Task Force Zeta."
"Task Force Zeta?" questioned Unkai with a raised eyebrow, matched the Hokage's which caused Hanabi's eyes to widen "Umm… I mean…" the young Hyūga could feel the glare from behind the Zeta Fox mask aimed at her "Anbu Team Zeta." Zeta Snake spoke up successfully drawing the rooms attention off the girl "Never heard of…"
"That's the point, right?" spoke Asuma who receives a nod from the Hokage "Yes. Until recently, they were classified as an SS-rank secret, known only to Sarutobi-sensei, myself, and their captain."
"What does that have to do with us?" spoke Illia Kuruma, a dark eyed, short light hazel haired teen who stood a little over five foot. "Yakumo, Illia, Hinata, Hanabi, Kila and Phera…" spoke Tsunade, the said person locking on to her eyes upon their names being called "…you all were trained in the Zeta camp at one point or another."

Widen eyes at that declaration "…and before you all make a ruckus about it." Raising her hand to silence the three adults about to bark out at her "There are seals upon your necks…" pointing to the approximate point upon her own "…which have sealed away memories of such a time." She looks to Hanabi "The only one not to have such a seal is you, Hanabi Hyūga." All eyes drop on the young teen "I was too young for such a thing." she states and Tsunade nods along to that, having heard this from the two at her sides beforehand "Are you removing them or something?" Spoke a hopeful Yakumo, perking up at the idea, her cousin and clanswoman at her side matching the eagerness. Their face lit up as the Hokage nods at that "Is this wise?" spoke Asuma cutting through the light-hearted atmosphere, the cheer behind him dying down with those words as the room locks in on the chain smoking Jonin "I mean, if they were decommissioned…"
"I am sure about this." Tsunade rebukes "In the short time they've been back, we've managed to hunt down and destroy nine members of the Akatsuki." The other eyes widen at that "As such, I decided to see if we could expand their capabilities. Originally, I wanted to attach Anbu members to their team, however that idea was shot down…" a slight glare at the Fox masked shinobi "…which is when I learnt about you all of the reserve group."

"Reserve group?" Asuma questioned to which the Hokage nodded "Think of it as like a second wave…" the snake masked operative speaking up for the first time "…as the first wave turned out well enough. We were preparing a second group to which Miss Hanabi was a part of."
"This is outrageous." Growled Hiashi declared, jumping up from his seat "How dare…?"
"In her case…" a softly spoken Fox, which somehow froze the entire room "…your clan elders thrusted both your daughters onto us. Yet they excelled. If the whole program hadn't been shelved, we are sure they would have excelled in all things."
"Why was it…?"
"Classified." Tsunade barked sharply "Their previous missions are all SS-ranked secrets."

An hour later…

"Enough!" Tsunade rubbing her temples "You, Hiashi, will sit down and shut up." said man sit down "This is what is going to happen." The hokage continues "Anbu Team Zeta, will be expanded by the people here after a period of training and conditioning to bring up to the teams standards." She glances back at the two either side of her "These two…" gesturing to either side with a single finger "…will take charge of them."
"We shall recheck your training, ensure you up to snuff, then we shall introduce your masks." Spoke Zeta Snake, clearly looking from one to another "…okay. So…" spoke up Yakumo, standing up "…are we going to be shinobi then?"
"Yes." Spoke Tsunade as she began going through the hand signs for their seals.

Five minutes later…

"My head!" spoke Kila, blinking owlishly before looking up and spotting the two black Anbu masked "CAPTAIN" coming to a salute along with Phera, Illia and then Yakumo. "Identify yourselves!" spoke Zeta Snake "Hi…; Yakumo Kuruma – Black Rose."
"Illia Kuruma – Black Lily."
"Hinata Hyūga – No mask."
"Hanabi Hyūga – Black Raccoon."
"Kila Sarutobi – Black Ape."
"Phera Sarutobi – Black Gorilla."

"Very good." Spoke Zeta Snake stifling the chuckle trying to escape at the shocked looks upon the adults faces. Hanabi was beaming while bouncing on her toes, whilst glancing around but ultimately eyes returning to Zeta Fox with a faintest dusting of pink upon her cheeks that went mostly unnoticed. Hinata's eyes narrow at her little sister, following her gaze her own harden evermore.

Land of Fire; Hidden Leaf; Zeta Hideout

"Beside the dust…" Kila spoke in the hall of the hideout, the dimly lit passageway covering his face in darkness "…my rooms pretty much unchanged."
"Same here!" Illia cheered poking out from her own room "Umm…" spoke Hinata in the common room, noticing how Ino was draped over Naruto who was working on a seal "…which room shall I take?"
"Don't you have your own?" Shikamaru questioned entering from the kitchen, drinking an orange juice in a glass mug from a purple straw. Hinata shook her head as Hanabi spoke up "We were never aloud to stay due to the council of our clan, remember?"
"Yeah, it was a pain in the ass back then." Ino spoke languidly from her seat, sandwiched between Naruto and the backrest of his seat "In that case, take any down that corridor…" Shikamaru pointing down another path "…though the ones with seals upon the doors are to be left alone." The two Hyūga nod before heading to find a room for themselves.

Hanabi, dressed in her Zeta Anbu uniform, comes darting into the common room to find Naruto and Shikamaru going over seals atop the table, Ino no longer around "TADA!" she exclaimed drawing both teens attention. Naruto gets up, closely observing the uniform as she moved "Looks a little loose here…" tugging on the seams atop her shoulder "…the chakra absorption seals seem to be working well."
"How can you…?"
"What about the communication seals?" spoke Shikamaru, scribbling down on a notepad from the seat they both had once occupied while seemingly ignoring the whines of the Hyūga princess. Naruto then pulled up her right arm firmly, inspecting the seals "Hmm… looks fine." His blue eyes lock on to her pale lavender, Hanabi involuntary gasped while fighting back a blush "Hanabi!" Naruto's voice drew her back to reality "Umm, Naruto-sama?"
"I said channel chakra to the gauntlet." He spoke softly but firmly, his breathe across her skin sending tingles and goosebumps up the young girls' arm "Right." The almost whisper from Hanabi as she proceeds to channel chakra as instructed. "…looks good." Naruto inspecting the seal thoroughly with a bluish-purple glow on his middle and fourth finger "No major issues then." Shikamaru commented looking over his notes "We'll have to run a few diagnostic systems during testing."
"I agree with that." The Nara sighs before a noticing something "What about the mask?"
"I haven't finished it." Naruto informs as he returns to his seat "I've needed to work on them but getting the others up to spec will allow me to make them. Plus…" he growls to allow his frustrations to be heard, "…it's not like I wanted them to be recommissioned." a grumbled beneath his breath but the other two heard.

"Orders are Orders, Nar." Shika mentioned with a steely-eyes, the soft edge causing the blond to stand down a silent huff slipping through his lips, blue eyes staring into the black Nara's with a silent conversation being had. Hanabi watched this interaction with interest, recalling how close the Uzumaki was with the two Nara's back then which caused a sense of guilt and sorrow swelled up within her stomach. "…Hanabi!" Naruto's voice bringing the pre-teen back to reality "…huh?"
"Nar asked you a question." Shikamaru states as the two stare at her "Sorry…" the girl bowing "…could you repeat…?"
"Lunch is ready!" Ino's voice from the kitchen drew the attention of all three, breaking up the conversation "That late already?" Naruto murmurs, rising up with his best friend "Slipped my mind too." Shikamaru moaned as he joined his blond counterpart in stretching out their stiff muscles.

Naruto led Shikamaru toward the large cafeteria with the later glancing back at the routed Hyūga, "You coming?"
"Ah, yes!" the girl jogging after them. "Naruto… go get the dog and his bitch." Ino commented causing a raised eyebrow from Hanabi watching her fellow Zeta member slap away the blonds' hand from a meatball atop a bowl on the table. "Why do I have…?" he froze upon the glare the Yamanaka levelled upon him as he sighed hard "Troublesome." causing a snort from the Nara at his back and a harder glare from the female Blonde.

He promptly left, Anko stepping in after, as Hanabi took to the long table "hey my cute little gaki's!"
"Little?" Spoke Ino with a raised eyebrow which froze the snake Jonin, who stared blankly at her "Little." Confirmed which caused the tension to raise as the two ladies stared at one another. "Cool! Meatballs!" called out Phera stepping in breaking the tension "Who made them this time?" the clueless teen questioned "I did." Ino spoke causing him to freeze up "Umm…" chuckling lightly which lacked any humour but before he could say anything stupid, Shikamaru grabbed his shoulder drawing his attention. He shook his head telling him all he needed to know and nodded in response "Oi." Ino growled behind them as they both flinched, internally obviously.

Strolling through the wooden floored subterranean base, Naruto sighed again as the dimly yet warm yellow glowing light seals that placed equally down the wide corridor, guided him towards his pack brother's room. Thoughts of how he had failed to prevent the reactivation of the second wave, though he supposed that his reluctance to work with the white masks. Shrugging those thoughts aside as he reached Kiba's room, and he punch the door repeatedly "Oi. Kiba! Foods up!" after a lengthy silence and a flicker of chakra which told the blond that the silencing barrier, built into every room, had been released "Got it. I'll be right there." Kiba's voice which sounded slightly laboured, and Naruto could clearly smell the pheromones leaking from the beneath the door causing him to grin "Oh and bring Illia with you." Naruto heard a muffled gasp, a hand covering it and a nervous chuckle from Kiba before he left.

"Hey Naru." Spoke Yakumo gaining the blonds attention, glancing up from his food at the table they have all gathered around "Yaku?" he responds with a raised eyebrow "Umm… the seal on my powers?"
"We'll deal with it either today or tomorrow. Firstly, I will need everyone's measurements to finish off the uniforms and gear." Gaining nods from all around the table "I'll help." Spoke Yakumo "Me too." Kila announced "I'll take care of their training, as usual." Anko chuckled darkly, her cold smirk sent shivers up and down the table "It'll be just like old times." but before any response could be fielded an alarm sounded and all playfulness vanished and the active five and ninkin stood "We'll be back." Spoke Anko as the group vanished towards their rooms.

Land of Fire; Hidden Leaf; Hokage Office

Tsunade watches as the now normal sight of Anbu Team Zeta stepped out of the shadows of her office to come face to face with Anbu Team Ro "Thank you for coming Team Zeta." The hokage announced "We have a mission that requires both you and…"
"With all due respect, lady hokage." Spoke Zeta snake which broke the conversation flow as planned "…however we are still, upon your orders, still rearming and training our reserve forces to active status."
"That's right however…"
"Not to mention, if you had read the fine print that we do not work with the white masks." Spoke Zeta Deer, with no discernible emotion in his voice. This statement caused Team Ro, the premier Anbu squad, to stiffen slightly that Team Zeta all noticed "I understand that however we need you to assist team Ro in a rescue mission." Tsunade explained which further confused Team Zeta "Rescue mission? We are an assassination and information team, ma'am." spoke a bewildered Zeta Petal, from the line she occupied with her fellow black masked shinobi "I know which is why you are the backup…"
"Then why are we even here? Can't Team Ro handle this? If they need back up then…?"
"Enough!" Tsunade cutting off Zeta Fox "You will back up Team Ro. Save my idiot teammate from the Stones hunter squads."
"Yes ma'am." All Anbu present responded, "You leave immediately." Tsunade orders and they all vanish.

Land of Fire; Hidden Leaf; West Gate

Team Ro was surprised when they arrived at the secret Anbu level exit to find Team Zeta already waiting for them. Without any words shared both teams headed directly for the Hidden Stone, not a single rest point much to Ro's amazement and annoyance but their pride prevented their complaints from being voiced.

Land of Fire; Fire/Grass; Border

Ryo's leader called for a rest before they leave allied territory. Dropping down into a sanctioned Anbu clearing "This is the last chance to rest up." Tiger, Ro's leader, announced turning back to his black masked cohorts "Would you like to rest first or…?"
"We'll Take first watch." Zeta Snake instructs firmly to which Tiger nods before moving off to set up their tents. Zeta team disperses throughout the area and Tiger actually stopped and glanced around after he noticed, or more accurately stopped noticing Zeta's presence. A soft chuckle beneath his breath "Damn; they're good."

The moonless night was the perfect cover as the two Anbu teams crossed over through grass, not even the wind had known of their passing. Team Ro moved back into the tree's after having cleared the plains of the Land of Grass. Cat glanced back not sensing her current back up yet in the shadows of the corner of her vision spotted Zeta Deer. By the time she looked directly at him, he had just vanished into shadows again. Returning her gaze forward she again only caught a brief glimpse of Zeta Snake to her squads two o'clock, with Zeta Petal to her Ten o'clock and surmises that Wolf and Fox were holding the four and twelve.

Land of Earth; Takuma Town; Outskirts

Tiger lands on the second to last set of trees, observing softly as the town was now in view, trying to find a trail left by the Toad Sage. "Found anything?" a whisper by his side, shocking Tiger who flinched internally, of course. "We can't see any signs left by the target."
"I'll have my two track him down." Zeta Snake whispers before fading back into the shadows, as if not even there. He still can't get over the fact that even his team's sensor had trouble tracking them.

"Got it." Zeta Fox replies over the radio, after being contacted by Zeta Snake, before glancing over to his pack brother who had left Akamaru behind this time "Ready?"
"Toad smell?" Kiba questioned with a quirked eyebrow from his perch in a nearby tree, crouched in the shadows of the trunk "Yeah, stay out of sight. No reckless shit this time."
"Got it."
"This isn't the Land of Birds." Zeta Fox reminds his comrade who paused for a moment "I know. I got something to return to." his whispered response. Both then rush off in a preset course.

Land of Earth; Numi Village; Farmlands

Noon. A blazing sun in a cloudless sky, marred by smoke from a battle raging in the distance which told the two Anbu squads they were closing in on their target. They travelled through the night without much rest following the noses of Zeta Fox and Zeta Wolf, towards their target. As the two groups continued to glide over the vegetable fields, rushing over towards the chakra trail, Tiger using hand gestures informs them to split up in pairs and surrounding the battle ground and break up the assault force and extract the allied shinobi.

"Earth Style; Spiralling Spear!"
"Lava Style; Multi Geyser Storm!"
"Stone Golem!"
"Swamp of the Underworld!" that last one caught the attention of the Anbu as it was a signature move of the Toad Sage. Getting in range "Can we kill all?" signed Zeta Snake to Tiger "Sure."
"Move out. Eliminate all." Zeta snake responded in Zeta signs and immediately the Zeta squad vanished from the formation.

Jiraiya was caught on the back foot, his trusted summon were intercepted and forced into a fight against Gem, the Hidden Stone special forces, which had cornered him three different times. He sent a toad message back to the leaf and the response was swift with his former teammate confirming two squad of Anbu. As he pulled off his Swamp of the Underworld, halting the encroaching enemy once more and overrode the lava geysers. He panted having been fighting for several days, sporadic fighting as he ran and hid from his pursuers the best, he could yet now he finds himself backed up against the metaphorical wall.

Eight Gem shinobi close in much to the annoyance of the toad sannin, yet before he realised two arrows had punched through the masks of the Gems. They others attempted to jump clear only for two spirals tornadoes of claws and fangs smashing through two closets to the others. The last four find themselves clashing with a second group of Anbu, and yet again he finds himself being pulled clear and being tended to by the black petal masked member of Zeta "You'll be fine in two minutes." her words as the mystical palm Jutsu begins to power up.

The four Gem operatives find themselves surrounded by the regular leaf white Anbu, back-to-back, but unknown to the tree huggers, their faces paled upon seeing the second squad that dropped down between the white masks "I… I… it can't be…!" one gem yelled upon seeing the black masks "You're supposed to be dead!" another yells clearly consumed by fear at the sight of these people. "We surrender! WE SURRENDER!" but the cold sweat ran down his back as weapons were drawn, arrows pulled back.

"Lord Jiraiya! Are you well enough to travel?" Tiger questioned, his squad burning the dead bodies behind him while Zeta squad maintained a perimeter "Yeah. Should be in a moment." The man breathing hard "Glad you got here in time."
"We made best speed here." Tiger responded noticing the gaze of the Toad Sage on the Zeta Fox, "They're really good, you know."
"I know." Jiraiya sighs hard "He was my student once upon a time."
"He's a fine shinobi." Tiger mentioned as the tall man gets off his ass and Zeta Petal, finishes packing up her medical set "Are we ready to depart?"
"Yes." Tiger responded to the woman who nods, and all the leaf forces vanish at once, unaware of the Stone Jonin hidden beneath the earth nearby. She poked her head up, glancing around and seeing the coast was clear, finally popped out before running off.

Land of Fire; Fire/Grass; Border

Back in friendly territory, the group land back in another clearing, stopping as Jiraiya was breathing hard still struggling after his ordeal. Zeta Petal grabbed his arm "You need to rest." her monotone wasn't comforting as she helped him down. "I just need a moment."
"No, we'll stay here for the night." Tiger orders as the masked shinobi all nod and Zeta all vanish into the trees again. "It's fine, I just…"
"You need to rest." Zeta Petal states again and the older shinobi finally relents and sighs "Fine."

Noon the following day and the sage awoke within the forests only to find himself being carried by Boar "What happened?!" he questioned quickly coming too and the squad landed atop several branches "We were followed by Gem. Zeta Covered our retreat." Tiger informed "How long ago?" Jiraiya asks landing on his own feet "About two hours ago." Cat adds "Should we…?"
"No need." Spoke Zeta Snake as she lands beside Tiger who nods "Very well." and before anyone less than a Jonin could tell something was there, they left.

Land of Fire; Hidden Leaf; Hokage Office

"You got me out of deep trouble there." Jiraiya exclaimed as he flopped down in the sofa in the office as the two squads of Anbu bow before their commander "I bet." Tsunade muses with a smirk before turning to the Anbu members "Thank you Team Ro, Team Zeta. You are dismissed." and immediately they all vanished.

Land of Fire; Hidden Leaf; Anbu Barracks

Team Ro is unpacking their uniforms, their mandatory two days off now in effect, "Heard you guys ran an op with that new team." Hawk, another Anbu member entering Team Ro's changing rooms "Yeah we did…" spoke Tiger, also known as Tenzo, "…they're highly trained and professional too."
"I agree…" spoke Cat, pulling off her mask "…if I didn't know any better, I'd swear they've been in Anbu longer than we had."
"That good huh?" Hawk leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed receiving nods from the others "They have two trackers, two archers, a medic, and assassination expert as a captain."
"Archers?" Hawk with his denoting his raised eyebrow "Surprisingly effective." Tenzo commented as he was reviewing the small conflict and the swiftness of Zeta's movements.

Land of Fire; Hidden Leaf; Zeta Hideout

"This was an annoying mission…" Ino moaned as the team step into the common room, her mask slapped down on the table, flopping down on the sofa "Get your boots off the sofa!" Anko roared causing Ino to snap up "Yes, ma'am!" causing a chuckle from the boys as they make their way passed heading toward their rooms. "I need a shower." Kiba growled to which Naruto nodded "You and me both."
"Troublesome." Shika chuckled as he too continued to unbuckle his armour as he walked, cracking his neck "I think you need to check the seals on my bow again, Nar."
"Later…" Naruto grumbled with a lazy wave of his hands "Let's be sure to ignore any more missions until we finish our maintenance." multiple snorts from around the hideout could be heard.

Land of Fire; Hidden Leaf; Naruto's Room

Naruto flicks the seal that lit up his room to find Yakumo sitting atop his bed "Welcome back." her soft-spoken voice carrying across the room. A nervous sigh escaped Naruto's lips as the door closes behind him "Yaki. How are you feeling?"
"A lot." Yakumo responded with a nod, standing from her seat atop the double bed "…and?" Naruto almost whispered as she daintily steps towards him "You helped me control my inner demon…"
"…and you helped me with mine." the two continue to close into one another "…I always dreamed of you… of us…"
"You know… me and…"
"I know." Yakumo mentioned with a soft finger across his lips to silence "…she may have you now but never forget you, and everything you are belong to me. So, in the end, my fiancée will return to me and we both know that it is inevitable." her soft gentle voice caressed his skin, hairs standing on edge with goosebumps running rampant, "Now… be a good boy and get some sleep." softly stroking his whisker marks.

A/N:
Yakumo becomes Naruto's shadow, slightly yandere in nature however she has a few rules that only she, Naruto, and Kuruma know, but none tell. Anko will eventually catch wind of something strange between the two, Ino will too but much, much later. The next arc will be focus on the hidden Mist. Though Naruto and Kiba both will complain as the mission assigned to them is again a rescue mission, which is outside their squad specialisation, again but Tsunade doesn't care.

The full team will be deployed, Hanabi takes her first life, Yakumo is saved by Naruto in an ambush, and Shikamaru gets some a Mist ass. Kiba kicks the ass of an aspiring swordsmen wielding, the kiba blades (kekeke).