Memories of the battle flooded Kakashi's mind. How they were about to lose everything. And then the strangers, not much older than his genin team. Slowly, he felt himself wake with the sunrise. "Kakashi-sensei!" he heard a voice, Sakura he assumed, call out to him.

"He's coming to." he heard someone in a language he did not understand say. "Miss Martian, link him up."

Kakashi felt a strange tingling, and finally his vision through his normal eye focused. His team was surrounding him. "Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried as they helped him stand. "Are you alright?"

"No." Kakashi replied gruffly. "But I'm alive, at least."

The dark-skinned stranger from before stepped forward to meet him. "Hatake Kakashi." he greeted him. "We have much to discuss."

Kakashi was given a recap of what Aqualad and the others told the rest of his team. "Well, your story is...hard to swallow, to say the least." he said. "But I owe you our lives. I will do what I can to help you."

"Thank you." Aqualad agreed.

"However, I still have a mission to complete."

"The one with the scroll, right?" Aqualad asked. "I've already sent Superboy to go retrieve it for you all."

Soon, Superboy came crashing into the field, carrying a massive scroll with him. "This it?" he asked.

"Yeah. That's the one." Kakashi confirmed.

Naruto walked up to the scroll, placing his hand on it like he had been reunited with a lost friend. "Hey." he thought. "I only made it this far because of you. Thank you."

"Now that that's done, we better head back to the village." Kakashi said. "It will take time, especially since I'm in no shape to be going all out..."

"We can probably get you all there in no time." Superboy replied. "Sphere!" Sphere then transformed to cycle mode.

"W-what is that?" Kakashi asked.

"For you, a mode of transport." Aqualad said as he slung Kakashi's arm over his shoulder and helped him into the side car. He and Robin shared it with, while Superboy mounted the driver's seat and Wolf clung tightly (and awkwardly) to him. "Miss Martian, you take the other 3 with you. Artemis, Wally...you're on your own."

Miss Martian used her telekinesis to levitate herself and the genin with her. "Wow! This is so cool!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke remained as stoic as ever, but even he cracked a small smile upon admitting to himself that he agreed with Naruto. The supercycle took off, and Miss Martian and her charges followed after them.

Kid Flash sighed, and held out his arms to Artemis. The archer begrudgingly accepted his invitation, and placed herself in his arms. "Don't get any ideas, okay?" she asked.

"Don't worry about a thing." Kid Flash replied sarcastically. Without another word, they sped off in the direction of their comrades.

Two guards in Konoha went about their business. Ever since the Sand-Sound War, things have been pretty dull. While that was for the best, when you're on guard duty, you naturally want SOMETHING to happen. Suddenly, one of them heard some strange whistling sound. "Hey do you here that?"

"Yeah." his partner agreed as he brought up his bo staff. "I do."

The strangest contraption they had ever seen descended from the sky, landing right in front of them. "It's okay; they're with me." a voice they knew well said.

"Kakashi?" one of the guards asked. "Is that you?"

"You were expecting Might Guy, perhaps?" Kakashi said as Aqualad helped him out.

"Where's your team?"

As if on cue, the rest of Team 7 stepped out of the bushes trailed by a young woman, who was Miss Martian in her human form. "Now remember, no telling anyone I'm actually green, okay?" she asked the genin telepathically.

Finally, Kid Flash and Artemis joined them, as Kid Flash skidded to a halt. "Home sweet home, hey?"

"Uh...KF?" Artemis asked. "You can put me down, now."

"Oh!" Kid Flash blinked. "Sorry!" he said as he set her down.

"I know this is all very confusing." Kakashi said to the guards. "But I must speak to the council about this. I owe them one."

The guards nodded in agreement, and opened the gates. "Well, my friends...I welcome you to Konohagakure!"

"The Hidden Village in the Leaves..." Robin roughly repeated in his own language as they strode in.

"THIS is a village!?" Kid Flash practically yelled in astonishment as he looked around him.

"Well, excuse me!" Naruto fumed, clearly taking offense to Kid Flash's statement. "I'm sorry it doesn't meet your expectations!"

"Didn't meet them?" Kid Flash asked. "This place blows my 'expectations' out of the water!" he exclaimed with glee as he held out his arms.

Indeed, by the standards of the team, this Konoha village was more like a small city. It was large, had several residential buildings and businesses, as well as parks. It could have easily been mistaken for a college town in their world. Though many buildings seemed to bare the scars of an earlier conflict, it seemed the people were thriving. "Astonishment aside, you all do have a lovely home." Aqualad said in a more polite tone.

"Thank you." Sakura answered.

Robin turned to the side and stopped. "Whoa. Check it out, guys. It's like Mt. Rushmore!"

Indeed, the mountainside bore large sculptures of four men. "Who are they?" Superboy asked.

"They're all the past Hokages." Naruto said. "I don't know the first, second and fourth all that well, but the third was a great guy!" Naruto smiled, hiding the sadness he felt at the fact the old man was gone.

"Fourth?" Superboy asked. "I thought you said the third just died."

"The Fourth Hokage died protecting the village from the Nine-Tailed Fox." Kakashi explained.

"Nine-tailed fox?" Kid Flash asked incredulously. "Is that really that big of a deal? Did it have rabies or something?"

"At it's peak, the Nine-Tailed Fox was as tall as the mountains and could cause tsunamis and earthquakes." Kakashi explained.

"Oh." Kid Flash said, feeling like an idiot. "Sorry."

"After the incident, the Third came out of retirement. He protected the village for years, until he died facing one of the village's greatest enemies." Kakashi continued.

Robin continued to inspect the mountain. "Come to think of it...Naruto, you kind of look like the fourth."

"Really?" Naruto began to grin widely. "Then I know I'm going to make it!"

("So, the rumors are true. You have brought strangers into our domain.")

Kakashi turned to see Konoha's elder council, Homura and Koharu. Both were former teammates to the Sandaime, and like most of his generation, were greatly valued for their wisdom and experience.

"It's quite a long story. But before you ask, yes, we did get the scroll back."

Naruto happily presented it to Homura, who only snatched it away from his hands as if he was a diseased child. The unusually harsh action did not go unnoticed by Sakura.

"Listen, why don't you bring us along for your little meeting?" Robin asked Kakashi before turning to Aqualad. "I'll be your interpreter."

"Agreed." Aqualad said. "Hatake, would it be alright if we explained ourselves to your council?"

"Sure. At least I won't be the one who will look like a raving lunatic that way." Kakashi then turned to his genin. "Why don't you three show the others around? We'll be back to join you soon."

("You can understand them, Kakashi?") Koharu asked in puzzlement.

Kakashi sighed. "It's...complicated. I think I'll be in the same boat as you two in a few minutes."

In another part of fire country, a blood-curdling wail broke the silence. You won't find the source in any structure. One would have to take a passage deep underground. There, a most unusual man sat up in his bed. His black hair was shoulder length, and he sported a yellow crescent earring. But it was his white skin that truly made him stand out. His eyes resembled a snake, ready to strike its prey. His own face semmed to have been modeled after a reptile, with his large square jaws and small nose. His arms hung limply in his lap, sporting a dark purplish tint as if they were suffering from gangrene. This was Orochimaru, one of the Three Sanin of Konoha and most dangerous rogue ninja of his generation. Or was; the Sandaime severed a part of his soul before dying, not only taking away his ninjutsu but also turning his limbs into useless appendages. And it was spreading, much like it's medical counterpart, causing severe pain to the man in question. "KABUTOO!" he shouted.

A young man, no older than 20, came in. He wore thick glasses and bore silver hair tied in a pony tail, and wore a hiate with a musical note, the symbol for the sound village. He also bore a purple shirt over his standard ninja attire. He was Kabuto Yakushi, Orochimaru's current right hand man and medic. "Hold on, Orochimaru-sama!" Kabuto got a glass of water and some pain killers. "Here. Drink."

Orochimaru ingested the medication and gulped down the glass. Though the pain dulled, it did nothing to dull the rage he felt at having his arms taken away. "Sasuke-kun...I must have the boy..." Orochimaru hissed.

"You can't. Not yet." Kabuto said. "Uchiha has yet to reach his full potential. Take him now and you'll be trapped in a weaker body than you planned. That's assuming we were in any shape to invade Konoha anyway. What's more, the curse is spreading. We have other candidates..."

"Useless!" Orochimaru yelled as he hobbled out of his bed, kicking over a nightstand. "If I transfer now, I'll have to wait years to do it again!"

"We have no choice!" Kabuto pleaded with his master.

Orochimaru growled, then began to chuckle. "There is another...SHE could help me."

Kabuto adjusted his glasses skeptically; he knew WHOM his master was talking about. "And just what makes you think she will help you?"

"Oh, I'll make it worth her while." Orochimaru cackled.

In the officially vacant Hokage mansion, Homura and Koharu listened to Aqualad's story through Robin. And like most sane people, they didn't believe their story. And that was putting it nicely. ("Preposterous!") Homura yelled angrily. ("This is like something out of a child's manga!")

Aqualad looked back to Robin. "Are you sure you didn't mistranslate anything I said?"

"Me? The sidekick of the World's Greatest Detective?" Robin asked in mock offense.

"Of course. How foolish of me." Aqualad rolled his eyes before addressing the council once again. "Believe what you will. But the fact remains we need help getting home. All I ask for is information of strange phenomena. The sooner we hear of such news, the sooner we can leave."

Robin translated again, but it judging by their stern looks, it seemed they wanted nothing more to do with them. ("Denied!") Homura exclaimed. ("Get this trash out of here!")

Kakashi sighed as he rose from his seat, using a stick as a cane to help him. ("I'm sorry. The elders are not the...most open-minded of people.") He walked over to Aqualad and Robin, placing a hand on the later's shoulder. ("But I promise I'll do what I can to help you.")

("Be careful, Kakashi.") Homura warned him. ("What you're proposing is borderline treason, helping these outsiders.")

("Perhaps.") Kakashi said. ("But can you do anything about it?") That stopped the two in cold fear. Though Kakashi was greatly weakened, he was still one of the village's strongest ninja. Most of the other ninjas couldn't even touch him, and those that could were more likely to side with him. They realized that right now, they needed a Hokage more than ever. ("Get out!") Koharu yelled in frustration. The three, realizing any further discussion was pointless, took their leave.

It was not uncommon for a jonin instructor to reward his genin team with an outstanding meal whenever he felt they did a good job. Today, Asuma was doing just that. In addition to Shikamaru and Ino, the plump, auburn-haired Chouji Akamichi was with them as well, completing the team. "Okay, you all did a fantastic job out there. Looks like the Korean restaurant is open for business again; my treat!"

"Yes!" Chouji exclaimed, throwing his arms up in the air.

"Not too much this time, okay Chouji?" Asuma held him back. Like the rest of his clan (and befitting his body, not that he would tell him) Chouji had an enormous appetite that rivaled a sumo wrestler. "I don't mean to sound like an ungrateful son, but I haven't got my inheritance yet. Let's try and take it easy for today, okay?" he chuckled.

Soon, Team 10 was seated at their favorite restaurant. Just as they were about to place their orders, Ino saw a familiar red and pink figure approaching them. "Sakura!"

Ino jumped up to say hello, and Sakura returned the gesture. "Ino." she acknowledged.

Before more could be said, Ino made a beeline for Sasuke and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, kicking up one leg behind her and getting her face as close as possible. "Sasuke-kun! How've you been?"

Superboy from behind noticed Sasuke give her look that seemed to read "Get off of me before I hurt you." It reminded Superboy of the time Artemis flirted with him over the psychic link on their first mission together when she joined the team. "I know." he thought sympathetically. "It's a pain."

Before Ino could flirt with him some more, she noticed Superboy behind him, and all could have sworn that steam was blowing out of her ears. "HOT DAMN!" Ino shoved Sasuke to the ground as she got up close to the boy of steel, leaving Sasuke mumbling something incomprehensible on the floor while a vein bulged on his head. "Hello. I am Yamanaka Ino." she bowed, behaving as lady-like as possible. "I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have about our humble village."

Superboy turned away, growling. "Aw, not this crap again!" he cursed mentally.

"Just tell her you're not even a year old." Miss Martian suggested humorously. "It seemed to work on Sakura."

"Ino." Sakura said to Ino, snapping her attention away from Superboy. "As much as I'd like to introduce you to our new friends, we've got a problem that we need your help with."

"Oh?"

"More precisely, we need Asuma-sensei's help." Sakura clarified.

"Guys..." The team stepped away to reveal Kid Flash on his knees, clutching his stomach. "...can we eat already?"

"Well, that didn't go well." Robin sighed as he, Aqualad and Kakashi walked the streets.

"I don't need a detective to tell me that." Aqualad sighed.

"So, what now?" Robin asked.

"I guess we'll just have wander around for information." Aqualad answered.

Kakashi then stepped up, getting the gist of what Aqualad was saying. ( "I imagine that you're going to wander about on your own now. But you'll most likely wind up more lost than ever. I know someone who has a bunch of private intel. He can probably help you. I'll contact him; he may be able to come back as soon as tomorrow!")

("Great!") Robin smiled, then passed on the info to Aqualad.

"Much appreciated." Aqualad bowed.

Suddenly, they saw a crowd gathering around one of the businesses. ("What's going on here?") Kakashi wondered. The three made their way through the crowd to see what all the commotion was about. When they did, each had three different reactions. Aqualad turned away and sighed. Robin face-palmed himself. Kakashi's visible eye only widened in horror at what they saw.

Kid Flash and Chouji were having something of a food fight/eating contest. Both were putting down large portions of food, but it seemed while Kid Flash was genuinely eating his fill, Chouji seemed to be reaching his limit. While Shikamaru and Ino looked on in horror at seeing their friend being outeaten by a slimmer person, Asuma slowly turned to see Kakashi, giving him a dirty look. ("One of yours, I assume?")

("S-Sorry! I'll chip in!") Kakashi tried to assure him.

Both were down to the last rib, and a chopstick duel ensued. Chouji smacked Kid Flashes fingers away, elicting an "OW!" from the speedster, but he was back on it. "Oh, so that's the way you wanna play, eh?" Kid Flash then began to move his hand and vibrate it so fast, the bowl exploded. Chouji, caught off guard by the display, shielded himself while Kid Flash snatched the last rib with his sticks. "Ah Hah!" he exclaimed.

Chouji only clenched his fist...and suddenly grew into a round ball while Kid Flash gobbled the meat down, oblivious to the danger. "KF, get out of the way!" Artemis shouted.

Kid Flash looked behind him to see Chouji, who suddenly began spinning like a bowling ball. "Uh oh."

The spectators outside ran away as a cloud of dust suddenly exploded from the restaurant.

"Nice going, KF!" Artemis punched him hard on the shoulder.

"OW!"

"You just had to go and trash a restaurant. Now we've been landed with a major repair bill, and we don't even have the correct currency to pay for it!" She punched him in the same spot again, electing another yelp of pain from him.

"Hey, I didn't start that fight!" Kid Flash protested as he rubbed his shoulder. "Besides, that guy could have stood to lose a few pounds!"

"Tell you what." Kakashi said dryly. "Asuma and I will take care of the bill. However, in exchange, Kid Flash will have to subsist on nothing but food pills until you all get home."

"WHAT!?"

"Agreed." Aqualad said, before turning to his friend, looking at him sympathetically. "Sorry, Kid Flash. Please bare with it."

"Now that that's out of the way...there's something else we may need to take care of." Robin said.

"Oh?" Kakashi asked.

"It seems we're going to be here a while. I've been thinking maybe we should all get some civilian clothing. Especially Superboy." Indeed, the Kryptonian's shirt and pants were burned and torn in several areas. Looking down at them, he reluctantly agreed.

"Really?" Naruto asked. "If I had outfits like those, I'd wear them all the time!" he exclaimed.

"Of course you would." Robin sighed, glad his mask hid his eyes rolling. "But these are not exactly designed for comfort, and we're attracting more attention then I'd like. Would you guys mind chipping in? I promise none of our girls have a fashion obsession."

Granting their request, Sakura took the team to their favorite department store. Except for Miss Martian, who could change her appearance at will, the team went to work looking for new clothes. "Interesting." Robin commented as he looked through his options.

"What?" Sakura asked.

"Even though this world is like Feudal Japan...uh, that's the country in our world that has a culture most similar to yours...the technology here is close to modern standards, give or take a decade or two. Also, most of your clothes are of a western-influence."

"What's so great about the west?" Naruto asked.

"It's just what we call ourselves; it's kind of become dominant throughout our world...though perhaps not always through the best methods." Robin replied as he finally found some clothes he liked. "Okay, now no peeking, okay?"

Sakura turned red with embarrassment. "H-how dare you! I'm not that kind of person!"

Robin's smirk only grew as he stared at her. "I can tell you're lying."

"Am not!"

"I'm a detective; it's my job to know when people are lying." Robin replied smugly before finding his own changing room.

Soon, everyone came out with new clothes. Artemis removed her face mask and sported a black blouse, white khakis and black women's shoes. She also had a denim jacket to go with it. Aqualad picked out jeans, sandals and a gray hoodie. Superboy, by some stroke of luck, found almost identical clothes to his usual, though now his shirt sported the konoha symbol instead of his S symbol. Kid Flash came out revealing his own freckled face, with a yellow long-sleeved shirt with a red vest over it, sporting light blue jeans and sneakers. Robin came out sporting a denim jacket with a white shirt, dark jeans and sneakers, his utility belt draped around his person.

However, there was one thing that threw off Team 7 about his choice of dress. "Shades?" Naruto asked. "But it's cloudy out."

"It's either this or the mask stays." Robin replied nonchalantly.

"Oh, come on!" Sakura yelled. "We don't even know you're real name!"

"The less you know, the better." Robin chuckled.

"Okay." Kakashi said as he handed the clerk a money order. "I'll get in contact with my associate, and I'll let you all know when he comes. Until then...Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke...I expect you to treat our guests with hospitality. Oh, and by the way..."

He suddenly tossed a vial to Kid Flash. Inspecting it, Kid Flash sighed, realizing this was going to be his rations for a while. "Alright, I get it..." he moaned in misery.

"Wait, WHAT!?" Naruto shouted. "Why can't you take care of them!?" he pointed accusingly at this sensei

"I've only a one-room apartment; not appropriate for guests." Kakashi replied dryly as he slowly walked away. "Take good care now." he said, waving behind him. "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Kakashi, clearly not wishing to discuss the matter further, hobbled out. Sasuke decided to be the first to volunteer. "If you'd like, I can host you for tonight. I've enough room in my yard for your pets." he said to Superboy.

"Sure." Superboy agreed. "Kaldur, you wanna come?"

"I've no objections." Aqualad agreed.

"I think it's best we stay with you, Sakura." Artemis said, referring to her and Miss Martian. Sakura only nodded in agreement.

"Well, I guess it's you, me and KF." Robin said to Naruto.

Naruto sighed, tucking his arms behind his back. "Well, I don't have a lot of room. But, we'll make do somehow."

("Here we are: my clan's residence.") Sasuke opened a gate that carried the Uchiha fan as seen on his blue shirt.

As he guided them down, Superboy looked around. It was like a ghost town. ("I thought you said your clan lived here.")

("I did.")

("What happened to them?") Superboy asked.

Sasuke only stopped, not bothering to look back at him. ("Gone. All gone...") He continued on.

Soon, they came across a large, traditional Japanese house, with sliding doors and everything. Sasuke removed his shoes as he helped himself inside. ("My room is the one on the far right. Feel free to pick out whichever ones you want. The pets stay outside.")

As Superboy petted Wolf's head, he explained to Aqualad Sasuke's situation. "It doesn't make sense."

"What?"

"We know that whoever sent us to this world has the sharingan. Sasuke said it belongs to his clan. Yet it seems he's the last of his clan."

"Yeah. You're right." Superboy agreed.

"Is there someone else not even Sasuke is aware of that possess it? Or..." Aqualad decided not to finish that thought. "...has he been lying to us?"

"It seems he doesn't like to talk about it. But something happened here." Superboy said. "I'd just like to know what."

"I'm afraid this sort of thing is more Robin's specialty." Aqualad sighed. He then turned towards the door. "I haven't had a good salt water bath for a while. Conner, please see if Sasuke will let you borrow all his salt."

"Sure thing, Kaldur." Superboy agreed.

The doorknob to Naruto's apartment jiggled inside. Soon, it opened, Naruto leading his guests inside. ("Here we are: Home Sweet Home. I know it's not much, but it'll have to do.")

Wally took a look around. "It's small, needs a bit of fine-patching...but, it's kind of nice." he smiled. "Your parents rent this place out to you or something?"

After Robin translated for him, Naruto frowned. ("Never knew my parents. The Sandaime gave this place to me.")

Robin translated his reply back. "Oh." Wally said. "Sorry." Suddenly, Robin punted him with his elbow. "Ow! What!?"

"That's what I would have done if this conversation was in english." Robin teased him before turning back to Naruto. ("Wally says he's sorry.")

("Aw, that's okay. It's not so bad; not anymore. I've got Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-sensei, Sakura-chan, and...") His words seemed to choke on themselves before he could continue.

"Hn." Robin grinned. "He even considers his rival a close friend." ("I guess we should have something to eat. Wally may have had his fill, but I haven't.")

("Sure. I'll go cook us some ramen.") Naruto agreed as he went straight for the pantry.

("Uh, you got anything else?") Robin asked.

("Not really.")

Robin sighed. ("Fine. Ramen it is.")

While Naruto was playing chef (to put it loosely) Robin and Kid Flash got caught up in a discussion, knowing Naruto would not understand English. "Wally, don't you find it a bit odd? That Naruto lives here without any guardians?"

"Yeah." Wally agreed. "And did you see the look those 2 geezers gave him? They HATE him!"

"I noticed that too. But then why keep him in the village at all?" Robin pondered. "I think...there's a history behind all this."

"You think we should ask around?"

"No." Robin sighed, waving it off. "We're not going to be here long enough to make a difference. Let's just let sleeping dogs lie on this one."

"Dinner's ready!" Mebuki Haruno exclaimed as she carried some chicken teriyaki to the table. Unlike her daughter, Mebuki sported dirty blonde hair cut short, and was showing her age.

"Thanks, Mom!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Smells good." Artemis commented as she and M'gann caught a good whiff of the food. "Thank you."

"But of course!" Mebuki exclaimed. "Anyone who brings our baby girl back safe and sound deserves to be treated like a hero!"

"Mom!" Sakura moaned. "You're embarrassing me!"

"Only because it's fun." Mebuki continued to tease her. "It's just the way parents would treat their only child."

"Heh." Kiashi Haruno, Sakura's dad chuckled. He was certainly an odd looking man, sporting purplish hair tied into several skyward braids, giving his best impression of a starfish. "I know of ways we can amend that." he teased his wife, touching her foot with his. Mebuki only responded with an irritated huff and poked him with her chopsticks. "OW!"

"Not in front of the children, dear." Mebuki said sternly. Artemis and M'gann chuckled while Sakura only turned redder. Feeling she had sufficiently disciplined her husband, she turned her attention to their two guests as they began their meal. "So, Artemis-san, and...M'gann-san, was it? Where are you two from, exactly?"

It was certainly a difficult question for the two to answer. Especially when they did not wish for them to believe their daughter brought home a couple of crazies. "Far...far, away..." Artemis answered.

"Mom." Sakura interrupted. "They don't have to say if they don't want to."

"You're right, dear. My apologies." Mebuki said. "It's just, I can only imagined how terrified your families must be for you."

"Something along those lines, I guess." Artemis responded.

"Our uncles are probably looking for us." M'gann said, secretly putting Sakura's parents in her psychic link. "They have experience with missing people."

"Well, mine does." Artemis agreed. "My mother's probably worried sick."

"Yeah. Though, I haven't seen my parents in siblings in what seems like forever..."

"Come to think of it, you've never talked much about your family." Artemis said over the psychic link.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Mebuki said. Deciding to try and direct the conversation to a more pleasant subject, she asked "Out of curiosity, just how many siblings do you have?"

"About 48." M'gann replied nonchalantly as she took another bite.

She suddenly heard both Sakura and Artemis choking on their food upon hearing her answer. "M'gann, you're pretending to be human!" Artemis reminded her as she tried to force her food down.

M'gann turned to see both Mebuki and Kiashi gave her a blank stare. "Uh...most of them were adopted?" she feebly tried to explain.

Konoha finally went to sleep, as almost all lights went out in the village. But one was awake. Atop the Hokage mountain, a lone, cloaked figure overlooked the village. "Hmm. I was hoping to throw off those pests. But if they came here...I may have only made things more complicated for us." He took a seat atop the fourth's head. "So, now what? Itachi and Kisame are due to arrive here soon. Should I tell them about our new adversaries?" He thought about it, and had he not worn his mask, a smile would have been visible. "Perhaps not. It just might make things interesting." A sharingan eye suddenly flared in his one eye socket.

Artemis fluttered her eyes open as the first light of morning shone through Sakura's bedroom window. M'gann was still asleep on her futon, but Artemis feared he'd have to disturb her soon. Turning to Sakura's bed, she noticed that she wasn't there. "Is she already downstairs with breakfast?"

Artemis then noticed her bathroom door was slightly jarred open. Cautiously taking a peek, she saw Sakura inside. She was facing the mirror atop her bathroom stool, shirtless and tying a measuring tape around her chest. Judging by her sigh, Artemis ventured to guess she was disappointed with the results. "Been there, got over it." Artemis thought. It could be tough being a teenage girl, especially when the media kept telling you that you needed large breasts to be considered a true woman.

Deciding to get Sakura thinking about something other than her body, Artemis tapped on the door. Sakura instinctively covered up her chest upon hearing the rapping on her door, but relaxed upon seeing it was Artemis. "Oh! Good Morning ! Did I wake you?"

"No." Artemis said. "I'm an early riser." she lied. "I'll probably wake up Miss M here soon. You got anything to eat for breakfast?"

"Sure." Sakura said as she turned to put her shirt on. "I'll help you get something ready."

Superboy combed his hair in the bathroom mirror, ready for another day in this strange world. "I better get something together for Wolf before he decides to rob the local butcher shop." Stepping out of the bathroom, he called down the hallway. "Kaldur! You awake!?" It seemed no one was home. Then, he heard something outside. It sounded like...fire. Or a flamethrower, to be more precise.

Superboy stepped outside, tracing the sound to its source. Soon, he found Aqualad, his pets and Sasuke by a small lake, Sasuke standing on the dock's edge. He weaved more signs, and breathed another fireball. "Hey." he said to Aqualad. "Been here a while?"

"A few minutes." Aqualad said. "He's shot quite a few of them though. It's like he's...obsessed."

Superboy cautiously approached the young ninja. ("Hey.") he said. ("Come here often?")

Sasuke seemingly relaxed, but Superboy could see he was still quite tense. ("My father used to bring me out here. He taught me the Goukakyu no Jutsu right here. Soon, I was able to show him I mastered it. It...") Sasuke almost smiled, it was perhaps his most cherished memory. ("It was the first time he acknowledged me as his son, and not a shadow of my brother.")

Superboy did not like the sound of this story. ("What happened here, Sasuke? What is it you're not telling us?")

Sasuke said nothing as he turned around and walked back to the shore. ("Come on. You're probably hungry. And we need to feed your dog before he gets himself in trouble.")

("Uh...sure.") Superboy said. "Way to dodge a question."

Naruto was not an early riser. Even before most missions, he rarely got up before 9. However, that was not the case today, as Robin and Kid Flash stood above him. "Frog pajamas? Really?" Kid Flash asked. "This kid so does not act his age."

"Well, will you do the honors?" Robin asked.

Kid Flash sighed as he poked at Naruto. "Hey. Wakey wakey."

Naruto unconsciously batted his hand away. ("C'mon...") he groaned in his sleep. ("Jus' five more minutes...")

"Allow me." Robin volunteered. He grabbed the corners of Naruto's cover...and suddenly yanked it, dragging Naruto down to the floor.

"Ow!" he shouted. ("What was that for!?") he demanded angrily.

("We're hungry. And we need to get going with getting out of here.") Robin said.

("Okay, okay.") Naruto groaned, rubbing his sore body. ("Just give me a minute and I'll take you someplace for breakfast...")

One of the two guards stationed at the west end of Konoha yawned. While it was ideal for nothing to happen, when you're a guard a small part of you would wish for a little action despite the risk to the village.

"Hey, Ken. Check it out." his partner pointed ahead of him.

Two figures began to approach them. Both wore black cloaks with red clouds, and concealed their faces with sugegasa (straw hats). One seemed to be of average height, while his partner towered over him and carried what seemed to be a wrapped halberd on his back. "Halt!" the guards shouted, raising their staves. The strangers continued on their way forward, the shorter of the two raising his head just enough for them to see his swirling red eye. The two guards' eyes momentarily widened, then closed as they fell over asleep.

"You were right." the taller of the two intruders said as they made their way forward. "That was easy."

"Careful, Kisame." the other said. "They were just standard ninja. The elite are within. Had we done this your way, you would have attracted them all. I'd prefer it if we accomplished our mission as quietly as possible."

"Sounds boring." Kisame sighed. "But...you're probably right. Very well then. It is...well, was your home. Lead the way Itachi." The two headed inside, unmolested.

A small, white dog barked a frenzy at someone, like many of his kind did when confronted with frightening strangers. However, upon hearing a growl back, the dog immediately turned tail and ran.

A young teen Naruto's age with red markings on his face and a hoodie that resembled a fur coat gathered him up. ("Akamaru, what's going-HOLY-!") He stared right into the face of the biggest wolf he had ever seen.

He prepared to defend his dog to the death, but thankfully, that wasn't necessary. "Wolf! No!" his apparent owner said as he passed him by. The wolf relented, and followed after his owner without question.

Kiba only looked on in astonishment as he saw the strangers gather together. "Who are those guys?" Kiba wondered.

Team 7 had decided to gather The Team at one of the picnic tables in the park for brunch today. Naruto of course had suggested that they treat them to Ichiraku's, but upon Robin's protest and a whack from Sakura, he agreed to buying them various bentos.

"Here you are." Sakura said as she passed one to Aqualad.

"Thank you."

As they all began to eat, The Team had a private conversation through the link. "So, anything unusual about our...hosts?" Aqualad began hesitantly, wondering if the others had as sad a past as Sasuke.

"Well, nothing on our end." M'gann replied. "As far as we can tell, Sakura's just a normal girl."

"I'm glad." Artemis added. "I was worried we would stumble upon some kind of 'League of Shadows' society."

"All is not well with them though." Superboy said. "Sasuke is an orphan."

"That's strange..." Robin added. "...so is Naruto."

It didn't go unnoticed by Naruto how The Team was strangely silent and barely touching their food. "Just what is going on here?"

Asuma had decided to take the time to visit Kurenai today, one of the newest jonin kunoichi. She was incredibly beautiful; wavy black hair, great figure, and stunning red eyes that others would have mistook for the sharingan. She seemed rather nervous whenever he got close; in his opinion that just made her cuter.

He figured he had a good cover to see her though: he would just say that he happened to have the idea to treat his team to lunch at the same place Kurenai was taking hers, which included Kiba from earlier.

He was about to flirt with her as his "plan" began, but something felt off. Kurenai noticed it too. Two strangers in cloaks were seated across from them, apparently drinking some tea. Normally, if they were intruders, they would have been notified even if they had over powered the guards, yet there was not a word of it this morning. So, they should have had the village's permission to enter. But this feeling-! Asuma and Kurenai decided to play it cool while their genin chatted, oblivious to the danger only jonin could sense.

"And I'm telling you, this skinny kid outate Chouji!" Ino described to Team 8.

"Next time I won't lose!" the portly teen shouted in response, raising his arms.

"Chouji..." Shikamaru groaned. "...normally I wouldn't bother you telling this, but winning one of those things isn't exactly a goal to aspire too."

"The tall one also had this wickedly huge wolf!" Kiba exclaimed. "If I weren't stuck with Akamaru, I would have asked him where I could get one!" His dog inside his jacket growled and mewled in response. "Ah, Akamaru! I didn't mean it like that!" he tried to explain.

"Yeah..." Ino said as her cheeks flushed and her smile became more day dreamy. "...the tall one sure is something." She suddenly imagined Superboy clad only in boots and a fury loin-cloth, sword in one hand and herself in bikini armor in his other, while his wolf stood among them clad in armor and a saddle.

"Do I want to even know what's going on in that head of yours?" Shikamaru asked with disgust.

Kurenai couldn't help but overhear the heated conversation the genin were having. "So..." she asked Asuma. "...Kakashi has brought some unusual kids to our humble village, I heard?"

"It seems that way." Asuma agreed. "They are rather...unusual."

"Do tell." Kurenai responded. "We seem to be getting a lot of such characters."

The strangers across from them were listening intently...and knew it was time to leave. "Let's go, Kisame." Itachi said as he placed his tea cup down. "It's time we got going."

Kakashi propped himself up against his bed, once more reading his favorite adult novel. He already contacted Jiraiya as he said he would...all they could do now was wait for him to come by. "If nothing else, maybe he'll be elected to Hokage. If not him, then..." Kakashi sighed in disappointment. "Not likely. No one's seen her in years."

He was broken out of his thoughts by a strange noise. It wasn't loud...it occurred some distance away. But with his finely tuned senses, he knew it was an explosion. Which could only mean trouble. "Shit!" Kakashi was no where close to full recovery, but quickly leaped out of bed and donned his ninja vest. He felt like he would collapse at any minute, but in a situation like this, he had to step in, no matter how lousy he may have been feeling. As he tied his hiate to his head, he opened up the window and leaped out, any injury or fatigue unapparent as he sped across the rooftops.

Eventually realizing that some of the mysteries in the village...mainly the past of Naruto and Sasuke...were not theirs to solve, The Team decided to actually interact with Team 7. Most of it was trivial questions. Kid Flash, however, requested to be taught some of their ninjutsu. Naruto was eager to play instructor again, but Sakura decided that maybe she should give it a try, knowing how Naruto mispronounced chakra for the longest time and felt he wasn't a good influence on Konohamaru.

She decided to begin by teaching Kid Flash to feel his own chakra within his body. Both were seated in the lotus position, as if meditating. "Relax, focus on your breathing." Sakura instructed. "Let go of all distractions, and look inside yourself." She waited for a moment. "Do you feel anything?"

Kid Flash took another deep breath...and slumped forward. "Nope. Nada. When are you going to teach me fireballs or kamehamehas or whatever?" he asked impatiently.

Sakura only smacked her forehead in frustration. "You're the same as Naruto!" she exclaimed.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Wally yelled.

"Yeah, what!?" Naruto also shouted.

"What do you think, baka!?" Sakura shouted back.

Robin could only hold in his laughter in vain as he finally doubled over and laughed out loud. "Yeah, I don't think he's going to get this anytime soon." Artemis sighed in annoyance.

"Or ever." Robin added. "Not that I think any of us can do a better job."

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked.

"It's a theory I have..." Robin was about to explain. He stopped when he noticed Superboy looking away into the woods. "What? Did your super senses detect something?" Robin asked anxiously.

Superboy cringed at that. "I guess you could say that...though they probably aren't necessary for this." he said, pointing to what he saw.

It looked like someone was trying to sneak up on them. Robin used the word "trying" because whoever was doing this failed miserably. It seemed their only method of sneaking was to use a poorly painted sheet to match the foliage. That part was wrong on so many levels. The sheet also bent forward, exposing it's white backside. Finally, the kids' shoes were exposed right below. Superboy simply ripped it out of their hands, revealing the trio. "Aw man! I thought we had them!"

The spies turned out to be three kids. One of which had moppy light brown hair and glasses. The other was a girl with red hair tied in pigtails, baby cheeks and a dress. The one that stood out to the others for some reason was the boy with spiky hair that stood up, and a long blue scarf on his neck that looked like a tripping hazard. "Friends of yours I assume?" Superboy asked Naruto.

"Hey! Konohamaru!" Naruto exclaimed, waving to the kid. "What's up?"

"Nothn'. Just checking to see how my arch rival for the title of Hokage was doing." Konohamaru tried playing it cool. "And following rumors."

"Rumors. What kind of rumors?" Naruto asked.

"Eh..." Konohamaru seemed to have trouble forming the words as he twiddled his fingers. "None of them too flattering." he finally said. "Something about you turning traitor and letting the enemy into our domain. Uh...not that I'd believe any of those sorts of things." he said defensively.

Naruto sighed. "It's cool, Konohamaru. I knew you wouldn't. And they're not true anyway."

"Ah-hem." Robin interrupted. "Aren't you going to tell us who these kids are?"

"Oh! Sorry!" Naruto apologized, rubbing his head. "This is Udon, Moegi, and Konohamaru!" Konohamaru also "ah-hemmed" Naruto. "What?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?" the kid asked.

"Not really."

"Yes, you are!" Konohamaru pointed at him accusingly. "You forgot to mention I am the grandson of the Sandaime and soon to be Hokage!"

"After me of course." Naruto nodded.

"NO! BEFORE!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU LITTLE RUNT!?" Naruto yelled, getting in his face.

The rest became incomprehensible name-calling as the two bickered like siblings. "Oi." was Robin's only response. "I'll go and sit over there while you two sing 'Oh I Just Can't Wait to be Hokage'." he said as he walked away. As Wally had given up on his lesson with Sakura, he said to her "Well, he seems to be taking his grandfather's death pretty well."

"So, you noticed?" Sakura asked.

"As I said, it's my job to notice those kinds of things. Losing a family member...especially to murder...that's something no one should have to go through." Robin sighed.

Sakura also noticed, judging by the way his lips twitched, that Robin seemed to have suffered a similar loss. Deciding not to pry (she had a feeling he would avoid her questions anyway), she smiled at the sight of Naruto and Konohamaru bickering. "Well, to Naruto's credit, he acts like a big brother to Konohamaru. I think he takes comfort in the fact he still has someone to look up to and someone who will always be there for him."

"Hn." Robin agreed. Suddenly, Superboy's attention took a sharp turn outside of the park. "SB! What is it?" Robin asked.

"Another battle!" Superboy took off into the air before landing a football field away.

"I guess I better get going too." Wally said as he sped off in Superboy's direction.

"WHOA!" Konohamaru exclaimed. "How did they do that!?"

"Eh...you wouldn't get it. Not sure I understand either to be honest." Naruto said, jealous of their abilities. "But...I better follow them. Konohamaru, go home now."

"I wanna fight with you!" the boy protested.

"No, Konohamaru!"

"But-!"

"No buts!" Naruto yelled in an uncharacteristic manner. "You're not ready!" Naruto calmed down for a bit. "Graduate from the academy first, then show me what you got." he said, patting his shoulder. "I'll be waiting then."

"Naruto!" Sasuke called as he tried to catch up with Superboy and Kid Flash. "Get going!"

Naruto nodded at his rival, putting aside trivial banter. "See ya around, Konohamaru." He turned around and bolted, leaving the children in awe.

As he caught up to Sasuke, the Uchiha quipped "I'm surprised."

"What?"

"I half-expected you to drag him along with us. I guess you do have a brain when it counts."

Naruto, not sensing any real hostility from him, sighed. "I'm not THAT stupid ya know?"

"Well, surprise is your middle name." Sasuke agreed. His smirk disappeared as he got closer to the battlefield. "Wait a minute...fire...this chakra..." Sasuke's own sharingan flickered. "It couldn't be...him?"

Superboy was the first to arrive on the scene, Kid Flash not far behind. "This is our battle?" Kid Flash asked.

"So it seems." Superboy confirmed. Two local ninjas lay unconscious. One of them they recognized as Asuma, the kunoichi they didn't know. The other two though..."Hey! They're wearing the same cloaks as the guy who sent us here!" Superboy shouted, pointing at them accusingly.

"You're sure?" Kid Flash asked.

"Black cloak with Red Clouds. Yeah, they're with that guy." Superboy growled.

The two turned slightly to face their new prey. ("Who are these people, Itachi?") One of them was a massive man...if you could call him that. His skin was a gray blue, his eyes yellow like a predator. He had dark gray hair that jutted straight up, teeth sharp as razors, and...gills!?

"What's with that one!?" Superboy yelled.

"I dunno. Either we're dealing with a Street Shark reject or Killer Croc in Gotham has inspired a bunch of copy-cats." Kid Flash said.

Then the other turned his head to look at them. He had dark hair and bangs under his eyes. Kid Flash had a feeling the girls would have called him cute if they saw him. "Hey..." Superboy noted. "...he looks...like Sasuke!"

"Now that you kind of mention it...he does..." Kid Flash agreed.

Just then, he flashed the Sharingan at them before deactivating it. "Those eyes! They're the same as Sasuke's!" Superboy shouted. "If Sasuke is the last of his clan...than this guy must be-!"

Though Itachi did not understand the language, he clearly heard his brother's name mentioned. ("Who are you?")

("Don't play games with us.") Superboy growled, this time in their own language. ("I know you sent us through the portal. My friend here saw your eyes.")

Itachi only narrowed his eyes in response, though he did regard them with suspicion. ("You're mistaken.") was his only response. "Who are these people? Perhaps they've met with Madara?"

Soon enough, the rest of the team and Team 7 joined them. "What's going on!?" Aqualad demanded the other two.

"I think we found the one who banished us here." Kid Flash answered.

However, in the back Sasuke heard none of this. His eyes only widened as his body trembled with rage as he got a good look at one of the intruders. "IT'S HIM!" he suddenly yelled, unaware he said it out loud.

Before anymore could be said, he felt a sudden pain in the back of his neck. Then darkness. "What..." was his last thought before he succumbed into unconsciousness.

His body was held up by none other than Kakashi. "Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cried. "Why-?"

"No time to explain!" Kakashi said as he relinquished Sasuke to her. Miss Martian immediately linked him up to understand whatever commands he planned to give next. "Stay out of this. All of you. He's beyond your league."

"Kakashi, with all do respect-" Aqualad began

"I haven't forgotten it was you all who rescued me. But my defeat at Ishidate's hands was due to my carelessness. Had I anticipated his tricks, I could have won handily. But this man...this man is on a whole other level."

"It's good to meet you again...Hatake Kakashi." Itachi said.

"Enough with the pleasantries, Uchiha Itachi."

Everyone's eyes widened. "Uchiha!?" Robin exclaimed. "He's...he's related to Sasuke!?"

While the Team was mildly curious about his connection to Sasuke, something else clicked in both Naruto and Sakura's head. They thought back to when they first met as a team, Kakashi asking about their hopes and dreams. Naruto stated the same thing he had stated a million times since then, Sakura only giggled with embarrassment (obviously something involving her and Sasuke). But Sasuke...his wish was something darker. "My ambition..." Sasuke emphasized back then. "...is to kill a certain someone...and restore my clan."

Naruto was creeped out by that statement back then, but seeing Sasuke's "target" changed things. He didn't know what to think of this Itachi. The said person moved slightly, and looked directly at him for a split second. Naruto felt like an animal cornered by it's predator. He couldn't explain it, but just looking at him caused him to tremble with fear. "Is...is this the person Sasuke was talking about?" Sakura got the same feeling.

Kakashi approached Superboy, being the most powerful of them. "Look after them."

"We can help you-!" Superboy protested.

("Itachi, are we going to fight already?") his partner growled, twirling his still wrapped halberd around. ("I know fighting like this is not your favorite thing in the world, but they are not giving us a choice.")

Itachi breathed deeply. ("As much as I hate to admit it...you may be right.") A kunai appeared from under his robe as he charged Kakashi. The copy-nin did the same, clashing with their weapons.

"Whoa!" Miss Martian exclaimed as the two displayed superb technique and agility.

"They're fast." Robin agreed; it seemed even worn out, Kakashi was Black Canary's and maybe even Batman's equal in combat and agility. "At least."

The two continued to duel, eventually flipping over into the river...and walking on it like it was solid ground. "Crouching Tiger, much?" Kid Flash quipped.

The two traded more blows, a punch to Kakashi's gut and kick to Itachi's knee sent both sprawling, but they righted themselves almost instantly. Itachi leaped into the air and impaled Kakashi with a kunai in the head. Before the team could scream in panic, Kakashi dissipated. "A kage bushin. Of course." The real Kakashi rushed him from the side as he impaled him in turn.

"Kakashi!" Superboy yelled, observing the battle with his super-senses. "That's not the real one! And it's heating up!"

Kakashi was already a step ahead of him, and flipped out of the way before it exploded in his face. ("You're good.") the real Itachi said as he stepped out of the shadows. He then eyed The Team. ("New shinobi? They don't look like it." )

"They're guests." was Kakashi's only reply. "But this fight is between you and me."

("I can't guarantee it will stay that way for long.") Itachi replied coldly.

Itachi closed his eyes...and then reopened them, revealing a sharingan. But this one was different. Instead of the three standard tomoe, the eye was shaped like a three-pointed shuriken. "Is this...the magekyo!?" Suddenly, Kakashi screamed in pain as he clutched his head and hunched over.

"Wait...what happened!?" Artemis yelled. "SB!?"

"I...I don't know! I didn't see anything!"

Though Kakashi refused to go under, his legs were so shaky that he was about to fall under the surface at anytime. ("Itachi!") Kisame leaped into the river, also making like Christ and walking on it with ease. ("That's bad for your eyes!")

("If it means ending the fight sooner, it's for the best.") However, Itachi's eyes did twitch slightly.

The team didn't know how to react; neither did Sakura or Naruto for that matter. It was their duty to help their allies...but how Itachi defeated Kakashi just by looking at him...that concerned them. "Oh man..." Kid Flash moaned. "How are we supposed to beat someone who can beat us just by looking at us!?"

"Miss Martian!" Aqualad commanded. "Bring him up! He can't keep his hold much longer!"

"On it!" Miss Martian's eyes glowed as she extended her arm and lifted him off the water and back onto solid ground.

"Hn." Kisame grunted. ("It seems we have quite a few interesting characters here.")

("So it would seem.") Itachi agreed.

Naruto and Sakura helped support their sensei. "Get them out of here!" He wheezed. "Don't...let them...take...Naruto..." Finally, he passed out.

"Whatever happened, I think it's some kind of severe mental strain." Miss Martian said as she felt Kakashi's temple.

"Can you fix him?" Aqualad asked.

"I...I might be able to. But it will take time."

"Time I don't think these goons are going to give to us." Robin said as he pointed to the two jumping up to meet them.

Sakura screamed in surprise while Naruto began to silently tremble. "They're...they're after the Kyuubi!" Naruto bit his thumb and weaved hand-signs as he prepared to summon the biggest toad he could muster. He finished the jutsu...and suddenly felt himself being drained. "What the-!?"

He noticed Kisame pointing his halberd towards him, shark like fins protruding from the bandages. ("Wow kid.") The Shark Man chuckled. ("That's quite a large amount of chakra you've got there. My Samehada shall feast well.")

"It...it's absorbing my chakra!" he realized.

"M'gann, get them out of here now!" Superboy yelled as he tackled Kisame, sending them both flying a hundred feet. Though Kisame managed to flip Superboy off of him, he was visibly shaken by the kid's strength. He was further distracted when Wolf tackled him from behind.

"On it! And be careful!" Miss Martian replied. Naruto and Sakura flet themselves lifted off the ground as their unconscious comrades joined them.

As she flew off, Itachi eyed her. He leaped up before she could get too high,but felt something wet wrap around his ankle and slam him back down to earth. He quickly cut the water whip with his kunai and shot a fireball towards Aqualad, who rolled to the side to avoid it. ("It seems you youngsters are going to put us through all the trouble I had planned on avoiding...")Itachi then rolled away as Sphere tried to run him over.

Miss Martian flew them over to the top of the tallest building she could find. "Okay. I know this is not the safest place...but it will have to do." She eased the three down. "Listen, I'm sure you don't like listening to this...but stay put. Just look after Sasuke."

The two reluctantly nodded, as Miss Martian turned to rejoin her regular comrades. "M'gann!" Naruto called. Miss Martian turned around, expecting an argument from Naruto. Instead of protest, he said softly "Be safe." M'gann smiled slightly, and nodded. Finally, she flew off.

"You actually listened to what she had to say." Sakura said in awe.

"This is different. Those two...they're unlike anything we've seen before." He briefly glanced to look at Sakura while she went to Sasuke's side, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. Though the sight hurt him...the thought of how she would react if Sasuke was killed hurt him even more. "And I don't want to lose you." he thought.

"Ahhh!" Kisame jumped forward and lunged at Superboy with Sadehama, fully exposing it's shark-like skin.

The blade landed on Superboy's shoulder, and though he shouted in pain, the sword did little more than cut his shirt. Superboy retaliated with a solid punch to his sternum, knocking Kisame past the railways and into the river. "What is this freak!?" Kisame wondered as he got his bearings straight. "I...I don't think I can take him on in direct physical contact!"

The thoughts stung Kisame's pride, but there always came a time eventually when you meet someone who surpasses you in a certain area. Thankfully, Kisame had other tricks up his sleeve. Kisame leaped out of the water, and once more engaged Superboy, this time cautious of his punches and his pet. Within a few seconds, Kisame saw that though the boy's strength was astounding, his combat technique was amateurish at best. "I can use this to my advantage." Sidestepping Superboy's roundhouse kick, he caught the kick and used the momentum to throw him into the river, creating a huge splash. Wolf managed to bite down on his arm, but Kisame worked through the pain and threw him into the river.

("I have you now!") Kisame dove in after him. As he predicted, Superboy was a capable enough swimmer, but he wasn't amphibious, while the wolf paddled to the surface. Quickly, he made his sings. "Suiton! Suikodan (Water Shark Missile) no Jutsu!" Kisame opened his mouth and launched hydro-sharks at Superboy. What would have cut a normal man to ribbons only stunned Superboy, but that was all that needed to be done. One hit him hard enough to force him to release his air, and the boy of steel made a beeline for the surface.

("Now! Suiton! Suiro (Water Prison) no Jutsu!") Superboy felt resistance suddenly, as he and Wolf were dragged back under. He tried punching his way out, but the pressure increased dramatically, and with his air supply going on critical, he couldn't push at full force. ("Ha! It seems even YOU need to breathe!")

Superboy and Wolf desperately tried to claw their way out, but his vision was growing weak as his chest felt like it was on fire...

Aqualad turned his waterbearers into swords and engaged Itachi. The missing nin proved to be fast, blocking each of Aqualad's attacks with precision. However, not without it's cost; each strike sent a wave of pain down his arm. "This one may be as strong as Kisame!"

The last strike broke his kunai, leaving him wide open. "Rahh!"

Aqualad tried to slice him, but Itachi easily side-stepped the blow. "He's skilled...but predictable..." Itachi would soon eat those words unfortunately. As Itachi prepared another fireball, Aqualad recognized the movements from watching Sasuke earlier in the morning. Quickly, he pointed his water bearer at the ninja and fired a bullet of water. Itachi was completely taken by surprise, as the water hit him dead on, sending him hurtling back. ("You're just full of surprises, aren't you?") Itachi kiyupped back up and hurled shuriken at the Atlantean before once more dodging Sphere's roll.

Though they pierced his skin, they failed to do any real damage. "You'll have to do better than that!" Aqualad yelled, ignorant of the language barrier. Aqualad transformed his water bearer into a knife, but Itachi easily caught his wrist and flipped him over, sending him falling hard. Itachi stomped his foot on his neck, trying to get him to submit.

("Anymore surprises I should be aware of?") Itachi's eyes widened when he saw Aqualad reach for his ankle. Though he did not know the purpose, he had enough experience to know that this was going to be some kind of energy-based attack. Itachi withdrew his leg, but notice the man beneath him light up, and felt an incredible wave of painful electricity through his body. An instant too late, and Itachi suspected he would have been rendered unconscious He stumbled back with another kunai to defend himself; probably useless, but better than nothing.

His attention was turned to the sound of someone approaching him fast. Quickly, he jumped up into the air before Kid Flash could ram into him. With incredible instincts, he threw the kunai down into Kid Flash's cast, causing the speedster to stumble in pain. "AHH!" Kid Flash gripped his cast, the blood seeping out.

Before anything else could happen, he landed in front of him and knocked him out cold with a round house kick to the head. ("You shouldn't be fighting wounded, especially when this does not concern you.") Itachi's instincts caused him to catch an arrow in mid-air; Artemis stood ready with her crossbow. He then caught the oddest red shuriken he had ever seen, thrown by the boy in the sunglasses.

"NOW!" Robin yelled.

The arrow caught flame while the shuriken with no apparent mechanism he was familiar with exploded. "Auggh!"

Aqualad ran up and kicked him again, sending him sprawling across the ground. Even so, he managed to stand. ("How disgraceful.") he said, his voice only slightly irritated. ("I won't allow you to knock me down again.")

Though they caught him off guard, his recovery and his doubtless expression gave Robin and the others the impression that this was a battle they could not win."This guy...I'd say he's on par with an elite shadow." Robin noted.

"You think so?" Artemis asked. "If anything...he's even better. He might be able to even beat Dad." Just then, Itachi was right in her face, almost as fast as Kid Flash. "What the-!?" Artemis jumped back to aim her bow, but Itachi was right on top of her, grabbing her by the neck and throwing her against a tree.

He closed in on her again, hitting various pressure points, and Artemis went down in a heap. ("It's over...") However, though having difficulty moving, Artemis managed to raise her crossbow and fired again, managing to scratch Itachi's cheek. "Impossible! I hit her radial nerve plexus! I'm sure of it! She shouldn't be able to move!"

"Let her go!" Aqualad came rushing forward with a water hammer, taking a swing at Itachi but the nin ducked under it and sweeped Aqualad off his feet.

Robin leaped down from above, lining his sight with various gas bombs. Though his eyes teared up, Itachi remained firm and was able to see through the gas. "There you are!"

Itachi rushed towards the boy wonder and kicked him down. "Ugh! I've a feeling he hits as hard as Batman does!"

Itachi was about to finish him off, but Aqualad rushed behind him, grabbing him in a full nelson. Aqualad then charged his electricity, seemingly shocking Itachi in agony. However, Itachi suddenly exploded in his face, sending him flying into a nearby building. Had he been a normal man, Aqualad would have been severely crippled; in a way, he was lucky that he was just unconscious. The real Itachi stood before him. ("You have caught me off guard numerous times; not many have managed to do that. I wish I could spare your lives, if only for being worthy opponents. Alas, it seems it is no meant to be...") Itachi weaved his hand signs for his clan's signature jutsu. ("...for you all must die here...")

"Get away from them!" Itachi felt himself being lifted by seemingly nothing as he too was slammed against the wall. Miss Martian flew over him, and looked down at the river. "Everyone, wake up!" Robin and Artemis were finally back on their feet, and Aqualad came too. "Aqualad, the shark man is drowning Superboy!"

"Understood!" Aqualad entrusted Itachi to Miss Martian and the others as he ran to aid Superboy.

("I've almost forgotten about you...") Itachi said as he dusted himself off. ("Tell me, just where did you hide the jinchuriki?")

Kisame grinned, satisfied with his work as Superboy's struggle became slower. It wasn't as easy as it looked; Superboy nearly burst open his prison several times, and it took a good portion of Kisame's strength to keep him in check. "It's a shame I've got to kill him; this kid really does have potential."

Just then, he felt the water pull back from behind him. "What's this!?" Kisame lost his hold when he felt himself being pushed back against the wall with the force of a tidal wave. He felt his body go numb from the impact as he briefly saw Aqualad swim past him. The Atlantean quickly grabbed Superboy and Wolf under his arms and leaped up to the surface.

Aqualad wasted no time in placing his hands over Superboy's Wolf's heart and administering an electrical shock. Superboy's eyes flew open as he coughed up some water, Wolf responding the same way. "Augh! Did you have to shock me!?" he yelled.

"Would you prefer mouth to mouth CPR?" Aqualad quipped in a rare bout of sarcasm. Superboy had nothing to say to that as he just gave him an embarrassed look. "I'll handle the shark man; I believe I'm better equipped for him. You engage the other one." Aqualad ordered him.

"Right." Superboy agreed as he decided to join the fray.

"Be careful!" Aqualad called before Superboy got ahead of himself. "The other man is really good; I'd say he could give Black Canary a run for her money. Don't try to beat him, just do your best to stall him, and whatever you do, don't look into his eyes!"

"Understood!" Superboy replied as he and his pet ran off.

Aqualad turned to face Kisame again. ("I don't like it when others interfere with my prey.") the shark man warned him as he showed his fully exposed sword. Aqualad grimaced as he brandished his own weapons and charged. The two crossed swords; though they were evenly matched in terms of strength, Aqualad's smaller swords shattered in the face of Kisame's massive blade. The swordsman made a wide swing for Aqualad's head, which he ducked under to kick his opponent in the stomach. Kisame immediately retaliated with a torrent of water spewing from his mouth, which sent Aqualad flying back into a wall. The Atlantean was far from finished though; he turned his bearer into a water whip to catch his ankle, and pull him down.

Though Kisame was slightly irritated, he wasn't too mad either. In fact, he was kind of amused. Quickly, he kiyupped back up. ("Not bad, kid.") Kisame said. ("Not bad at all.")

Aqualad charged him again, this time armed with two water maces. Aqualad was fierce, but Kisame had great experience, easily countering his weapons. Suddenly, the Atlantean felt himself beginning to get tired. "Wh-what's happening?" He felt his legs begin to shake. "I-I don't get tired so easily!"

("You've got quite a bit of chakra. Thanks for the meal.") Kisame said as he punched Aqualad in the face, sending him flying back into the river where he followed him.

Kisame decided to waste no time and drown this one. He put Aqualad in another water prison, this time increasing the pressure immediately lest he get another Superboy surprise. ("How do you like this!?") Kisame expected a similar struggle...but was met with disappointment, as Aqualad simply relaxed into a meditative position. "What's this!? He should be drowning..." Just then, he noticed the gills. "You mean he's amphibious...just like me!?" Kisame growled. "Well, he's trapped either way! I'll just have to settle for a quick kill and join Itachi up on the surface!"

He swam towards Aqualad, who waited patiently for him. "Come on...come on..." Aqualad thought as he sensed Kisame getting closer. As Kisame brought a kunai close to him, Aqualad grabbed his wrist and sent a shock through his system, causing the shark man to scream in pain and release Aqualad from his prison.

The Atlantean wasted no time in escaping, swimming away and turning to face him. He aimed his water bearers, forming his eel-dragon. "Hah! I'll just absorb his chakra..." Kisame pointed Sadehama, but it didn't react, and the conjured water hit him full-force. As he hit the wall, he gaped at what just happened. "Impossible! That should have absorbed his chakra! Unless...that technique didn't use any chakra at all!" Kisame couldn't fathom how it worked, but in the end these attacks were immune to his chakra-draining sword. "I'll have to get up close and do it the hard way!"

Kisame immediately created sharks in the water, each swimming towards Aqualad. Aqualad sliced one, and grappled with another. This was nothing new to him; his adoptive father and sometimes even Aquaman took him shark-hunting, and had great experience wrestling the dangerous creatures. "Amazing!" Aqualad thought as he ripped apart one with his bare hands. "Not only has he controlled the shape of the water...he's given them a limited sense of consciousness!" One managed to bite his ankle, but Aqualad gave it a good whack with his water hammer. Suddenly, he was ambushed by Kisame, who tackled him and proceeded to give him a good pounding from there. Aqualad shook the cobwebs out of his head and punched Kisame across the face, proceeding to electrocute him. Though the ninja cried out in pain, he was soon relieved when one of his sharks grabbed Aqualad by the shoulder and dragged him away. Aqualad realized the enormity of the situation he was in; if he focused on Kisame, the sharks would kill him. But if he turned his attention elsewhere, Kisame would. Overall, he was in quite a predicament.

("I may not be able to feast on your chakra from your jutsus...") Kisame said as he got close to him. Without warning, Sadehama's tip opened up into a jaw-like mouth and bit him on the shoulder. "But I can still draw it from you physically!" Aqualad struggled to resist, but only felt himself getting weaker and weaker...

Itachi sent Robin tumbling to the ground with a spinning back knuckle with ease, knocking him out. Artemis and Kid Flash were both down as well. Before he could revel in his glory, he jumped to the side to avoid a park-bench being thrown at him. Miss Martian threw more debris at him which Itachi dodged with ease. She then lifted a far-off food cart, and hurled it at him. Itachi, feeling he had enough of her games, jumped up and ran across the surface towards her. He jumped off the flying piece of debris and leaped towards her. However, Miss Martian was ready and halted him in mid-air. ("Did you really think I was going to attack you with my bear hands?") Itachi asked. Suddenly, a ball of fire straight from his mouth hit Miss Martian dead center. The Martian screamed as she plummeted down to earth in a heap, the burns scarring her body. Itachi felt whatever force was holding him up disappear as gravity reclaimed him, and unlike his brief captor, he landed on his feet perfectly.

"You're going to pay for that!"

Itachi instinctively side-stepped away as Superboy's punch came from behind him. ("Too slow.") Itachi then noticed a slight pain; tracing it along his body, he realized it followed the same path as Superboy's punch. "He barely even grazed me, yet he still managed to give me quite a bruise. Who are these guys?"Itachi was brought out of his thoughts as Superboy lunged at him yet again, and countered with a rear horse kick. Unfortunately, the kick seemed to do Itachi more harm to him than his attacker as he felt his foot go numb and felt a sharp pain traveling up his calf. Wolf suddenly tackled him and attacked with his jaws. Itachi moved his neck from side to side, unable to stop the beast's jaws from advancing. Quickly, he got a kunai and explosive tag, slamming it into the beast's mouth. Though the metal nearly broke to pieces, the explosion sent the wolf flying back and landed in a heap, down for the count. Sphere tried to run him over again, but Itachi was easily able to roll out of the way as usual.

Superboy, rushed him from behind and gripped Itachi in a bear-hug. Though Itachi was trained to counter such amateurish maneuvers, the strength at which he gripped him surprised him. "He's much stronger than the last! How is this possible!?" Suddenly, he felt Superboy spin the both of them like a merry-go-round, at some point with Superboy letting him go. Itachi tumbled across the road, leaving a trail nice sized dents and clouds of dust on the street.

"He's winning!" Naruto exclaimed in joy as they watched the fight from the rooftop Miss Martian settled them onto.

"Hell yeah!" Sakura agreed, pumping her fist. "As long as they've got Superboy, nothing can stop them!"

Suddenly, they heard someone groaning. As they turned around, Sakura gasped "Sasuke-kun!" and ran over to him, the boy still disoriented and having trouble sitting up.

As she supported him, Sasuke asked "Wh-what happened?" Just then, he heard the ruckus across the village, and ran towards the edge of the building. His eyes widened in realization as the memories from before he was knocked out came back to him. "ITACHI!" he screamed. Suddenly, Naruto grabbed him by the arm. "What are you doing!?" he angrily demanded.

"Stay here! They'll handle it!" Naruto yelled, not sure if even he believed what he just said.

"Sasuke-kun, please listen to him! Not even Kakashi-sensei could beat them!" Sakura pleaded.

"I SAID GET OFF!" Sasuke yelled as he pushed Naruto down and leaped down onto the street.

Quickly, his two friends went after him. It terrified them both had just how aggressive Sasuke had become; especially Naruto. He had only seen that look once before in Sasuke's eyes, years ago as kids during a sparring session. He wasn't hurt, but when he trounced Naruto, his eyes seemed to be looking elsewhere. But this...this was much more intense.

Jiraiya leaped between the trees as he made his way to Konoha's outer walls, pondering the letter Kakashi had sent him via messenger hawk. Apparently some skilled and powerful youngsters had saved them on a mission, according to the letter, and needed to find a way home. Normally, the Toad Sage would have dismissed it as "not his specialty". But where Kakashi was concerned, everything was serious business. Besides, by saving him they saved Naruto as well. So, doing what he could as a courtesy would be the least he could do. "I guess he'll fill me in on the details once I get there."

Just then, as he landed on top of a random building in the village, he began to hear signs of a struggle. "What's going on here?" This was no training exercise...it was taking place in the village! "It couldn't be..." Jiraiya tried to reason there were other possibilities. The Sand? No, their forces were devastated at this point, even if they desperately sought retaliation. Same with Orochimaru; while the details were unknown, judging by how Sarutobi-sensei died, it was likely that Orochimaru suffered a crippling blow as well. The mist swordsmen were all dead except one, and there were no other major criminal organizations within the area to mount an attack.

Which only left one possible explanation: Akatsuki! "Oh no...they're after Naruto!" Jiraiya quickly picked up the pace, hoping that he wouldn't be too late...and that he could actually stand up to whoever they sent...

Superboy was on the attack once more, this time trying to grab Itachi from behind. However, despite his enthusiastic charges, Itachi dodged all of his attacks with ease. "It IS like sparring with Black Canary again!" the Kryptonian thought in irritation.

("I see.") Itachi said monotonously. ("It seems for all your strength, you have very little knowledge on how to use it.")

("And you have no idea how to counter it!") Superboy charged with a kick, and though he left a nice crater in the street, Itachi once more side-stepped him with ease.

"He's not quite as dumb as he looks; he's been avoiding eye contact with me the entire time." Itachi used a soft hand block to parry an attack coming from his side. "They're smart; they've deduced correctly how I've defeated Kakashi..." Itachi back-flipped away from another kick. "...but there's more than one way to skin a cat."

Suddenly, Superboy managed to tackle Itachi to the ground. ("It's over!") Superboy quickly got him into an arm bar; for someone like him, breaking his arm wouldn't be a challenge. However, Itachi's body suddenly turned to wood and wrapped around Superboy. "What the-!?" Superboy struggled to no avail realizing he was caught in some kind of illusion. "I'm really starting to hate illusions...almost as much as I hate monkeys."

("It has been rather...intriguing, fighting you and your friends.") the real Itachi said as he came up to him. ("But I have a job to do; so I must eliminate you all.") Itachi's eyes suddenly changed; before, they were the sharingan that Sasuke possessed. But the pupils enlarged, the three points surrounding it connecting and becoming like blades, almost like a shuriken...

Superboy saw all the colors around him become inverted. The atmosphere changed in a way he could not describe. The sky turned red...and no one but himself but Itachi were present. Superboy tried to move, only to find that he couldn't. "This is the Tsukiyomi. A genjutsu, perhaps one of the most powerful around. In this world, I control space and time."

Superboy gritted his teeth as he struggled to move his limbs, which were held back by apparently nothing. "Shall I have you stabbed until you give in, like I did Kakashi?" Itachi asked. "No. I think this is more to your...unusual talents." Itachi raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Superboy saw from his upper peripherals what seemed to be the moon suddenly come down upon him. "Oh sh-" He was cut off as the entire mass of the moon crushed him underneath it's rate. He was able to take incredible blows before, but this was different. He never had a celestial body dropped on him before; he doubted even Superman could survive something like that. Realizing the enormous pain he was in, he was relieved and annoyed that he was still alive. And the moon was somehow back in it's rightful place.

"I think another 48 hours should do." Itachi seemingly slammed it on him again. The same event occurred several times, Superboy somehow miraculously surviving. He lost count of how many times it happened; it seemed to go on forever. "As I said, in this world I control time." Itachi explained. "That was only 1 second. 47 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds to go." Superboy's eyes widened in horror as the hits kept on coming for what seemed to be an eternity...

Superboy let out a loud gasp as his eyes widened like he was having a heart attack, and collapsed into a catatonic state, his eyes half-open but unaware. Itachi stepped away, as he massaged his temple. "To force me to use my magekyo twice in one day..."

"You're done with yours too?" Kisame came walking over, carrying a battered Aqualad over his shoulder where he dropped him without a care. "Shall we continue on with our mission?"

"At this point, I doubt we'll have the time." Itachi sighed. "Let's do a clean sweep of the immediate vicinity. If we cannot locate the jinchuriki, we'll have to move out."

"Right." Kisame agreed.

"ITACHI!"

The two turned around to see the youngest Uchiha face them. "Who is this kid?" Kisame asked.

At this point, Robin, Artemis and Kid Flash were awake but out of the fight. Upon seeing Sasuke, Robin panicked. "You idiot! What are you doing here!? Run!" He waved with his arm. He tried to stand, but the pain in his torso was too intense.

By then, Naruto and Sakura joined him as Sasuke's glare at Itachi only intensified. "He's my little brother." Itachi said plainly, answering his companion.

Robin's eyes widened as he listened on the conversation. "It's beginning to make sense now..."

"Let's go, Kisame. We're attracting enough attention as it is." Itachi said as he turned around to walk the opposite direction.

"YOU STAY RIGHT THERE!" Sasuke charged him head on, but Itachi kicked him down with ease before he even got close. Sasuke only got back up, this time armed with a kunai.

He slashed and slashed at his elder brother, but he couldn't even tear his cloak for all his rapid slashes. "You've grown." Itachi noted. "But not grown enough." Itachi elbowed his shoulder, and then sent him flying backward with a spinning kick once more.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura rushed to his side to help him up as he struggled with the pain. "Please, that's enough! You can't win!"

"Get out of my way!" he shouted as he pushed Sakura aside. Sphere tried to block him, but Sasuke jumped over it with ease as he made a few hand signs, charging up his Chidori. "I've waited for this moment for years." he snarled as the lightning in his hand crackled. "And I'll be damned if I let you slip away again! After all you've done! To the clan! To our parents! And all just to test out your damned eyes!?"

He charged, dragging his Chidori across the ground like it was made of paper. He lunged at Itachi...and his Chidori stopped in mid-air. Itachi had stepped forward to grab his elbow, halting his attack. "Not enough." he said.

He squeezed, dislocating his brother's elbow. "Auughhh!" Sasuke cried.

Itachi tripped up Sasuke's feet, and slammed him onto the ground. He leaned in close, whispering into his ear. "You don't hate me enough. And you know what? You never will." He slammed Sasuke down on the ground once more, knocking him out.

He then looked to both Naruto and Sakura, both trembling in fear. "Now, Naruto. It is time..." He lunged forward...and jumped back when a giant toad fell from the sky blocked his path.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT THING!?" Kid Flash yelled in horror.

Robin, KF, Artemis, M'gann and the two remaining ninja looked up to see on top of the toad was a large man with white hair. He balanced himself and hopped on one leg, spread his arms out and swung his head like a wild man. "Prepare yourselves! For now, you face the wrath of Jiraiya!" he yelled.

Robin's eye only quirked. "What, the, hell?" he asked in disbelief upon witnessing the stranger.

"Jiraiya." Itachi said, still calm but ready to make a break for it. "I didn't expect you to arrive here."

"Had some business to take care of, and I didn't expect you. So, the feeling's mutual." Jiraiya said, dropping his goofy attitude.

He then looked back to Naruto, who was also surprised to see him. "E-ero-senin!"

"You know him!?" Sakura asked.

"Move. We have business with the boy." Itachi demanded.

"You'll have to get through me first!" Jiraiya made his hand signs.

Suddenly, the kids were all surrounded by a fleshy mass that expanded from the ground. "EW! GROSS!" Sakura exclaimed before the red flesh cocooned her.

Once everyone was encased, Jiraiya leaped off his toad and engaged Itachi in Taijutsu. The two were just about even, although Jiraiya had a size advantage over him, forcing Itachi on the defensive. Kisame was about to charge with his weapon, but another toad blocked it with his gauntlet.

"More ninja are on their way, soon." Jiraiya taunted him.

Itachi broke off. "Kisame! We're leaving! Now!" Kisame grunted in frustration, but knew it was not wise to attack a sanin directly.

Quickly, they bolted in the opposite direction. "Oh no you don't!" Jiraiya made a few hand signs, and suddenly the same fleshy substance closed in around them.

"This is bad, Itachi!" Kisame yelled.

"Leave it to me." He once more activated his Magekyo Sharingan. Just when the substance closed in on them, it exploded from the inside, the two agents leaping free into the open as they made their retreat. The flesh they left behind began to burn with black flames.

Jiraiya growled in frustration. "Damn, they got away. I should have known Itachi would have such a trick up his sleeve." He deactivated his jutsu, the flesh seemingly receding back into the earth.

Everyone still conscious was relieved to be free of the flesh; Sakura in particular was about to scream hysterics and shake her body like mad, but realized to her great relief that she was still dry. "Oh thank kami."

As Robin and the others wondered what just happened, Naruto instead proceeded to confront the old hermit. "Ero-senin!" Naruto exclaimed. "What are you doing here!?"

"That's something Kakashi needs to explain to me." Jiraiya said, giving him an annoyed look. "Now be quiet, I've got to seal these flames." Jiraiya pulled out a scroll, made his hand signs, and opened it. The black flames then disappeared into the scroll. "There."

"Couldn't you have just put some water over those flames?" Naruto asked.

"You really are an idiot!" Jiraiya sighed. "Those were no ordinary flames; nothing can extinguish them. Only be sealed away." he explained.

"Naruto..." Sakura said, realizing her question from before was unanswered. "W-who is he?"

"Him?" Naruto asked. "Oh. Just some perverted old geezer."

Jiraiya growled and clocked Naruto on the head. "You idiot! When will you ever learn! I am the Great Toad Sage Jiraiya!" he exclaimed, making his usual exaggerated movements.

Sakura's eyes widened. "T-This is Jiraiya!?"

"Yeah, so what?" Naruto asked.

"So what!? He's one of the Legendary Sanin!" Sakura exclaimed in disbelief. "How in the hell did you come to know him!?"

"So he says..." Naruto replied. "I still don't think he's that great."

"Whatever." Jiraiya sighed, looking away. "I'll talk sense into you later. Right now, where's Kakashi?"

Naruto's eyes widened, then softened. "He's...he's not well."

Jiraiya only looked at him. "He looked into Itachi's eyes, didn't he?"

"Far as I can tell." Naruto answered.

Jiraiya sighed. "I've heard of that jutsu. It's deadly. Not even the best genjutsu users can break out of it."

"Kakashi-sensei's on a roof a few blocks from here." Sakura said. "Can you help him?"

"Afraid not." Jiraiya sighed. "The only one who can help him...would be Tsunade."

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, just keep your mouth shut." Jiraiya sighed. "But Kakashi said that there were some...kids...who needed my help finding their home." Jiraiya sighed with disgust this time.

"Uh...yeah." Robin got up grunting, finally able to move. "That would be us." he emphasized.

Jiraiya studied him for a moment before folding his arms, seeing quite clearly he wasn't from around here. "Well, it doesn't look like Kakashi is going to wake up anytime soon. I guess you'll have to explain your situation to me."

After Jiraiya listened to Robin, he only sat with the most dumbfounded look on his face as he folded his arms and sat down. For the longest time, he said nothing. Then ("...I don't believe you.") he finally replied.

Robin sighed. ("Unfortunately, I can't blame you. But it's the truth.")

Jiraiya rubbed his chin. ("Still, you seem sincere enough...") Jiraiya finally sat up. ("And you're sure? About the cloaks and everything?")

After giving him the translation, Wally replied "Tell him I'm sure. The guy had a cloak with red clouds on. Superboy would confirm that...if he were even awake."

Indeed, while the others have regained consciousness, Superboy remained in a catatonic state. "Miss Martian." Aqualad said as the alien cradled their toughest member. "You said you may be able to heal the damage?"

"I don't know." Miss Martian answered honestly. "But I'll try."

Miss Martian knelt, clutching onto his temples and pressing her forehead against his while the others looked on in anticipation. She opened her green, glowing eyes as her hair fluttered about her, with no apparent aid from the wind. Then, the dirt around her began to hover and swirl around her. "Oh jeez." Artemis breathed. "It's that bad?"

"Apparently." Kid Flash responded, also equally in awe.

Jiraiya and the other ninja, however, were stunned speechless. "I'm starting to think they're not so crazy after all..."

Just when it seemed Miss Martian was about to start an F1 tornado, she finally calmed down. Superboy suddenly groaned. "Oh...my head..." Superboy massaged his head and began to sit up.

"Conner!" Miss Martian hugged her arms around him, and buried her face into the back of his neck.

Superboy looked around lethargically, finally coming to realize M'gann helped him out of it. "Thanks..." He stroked her hair reassuringly. The others ran to help Superboy up. "Sorry, Kaldur..." Superboy began.

"No need." Aqualad reassured him. "There was nothing you could have done; I didn't fare much better against mine."

As the Kryptonian was helped to his feet, Naruto approached Miss Martian. ("Hey! Can you fix Kakashi-sensei now?")

Miss Martian suddenly buckled, now needing support from Superboy. Realizing their link was down, Superboy translated for her. "I...I don't think I can. Not now anyways." she gasped.

When Naruto was given the reply, he screamed ("WHAT!?")

("Naruto!") Sakura scolded him. ("Can't you see she's exhausted!?")

Naruto looked up at her, and realized she was; she was panting heavily, and breathing profusely. She had enough strength to explain it telepathically. "Whatever happened, Superboy's mind was pushed to it's limits. It's like the equivalent of pulling a muscle; I was doing 'surgery' so to speak. It's not easy, and quite frankly it's an uphill battle." she explained.

"Here." Superboy helped Miss Martian over to a park bench that was miraculously untouched, setting her down.

("So...") Naruto began.

Miss Martian smiled. "I may be able to help Kakashi as soon as tomorrow." she declared, to which Superboy gave him the answer.

Naruto smiled in relief. ("Great!")

("Well, I guess then I don't need to try quite as hard to find the next Hokage.") Jiraiya commented.

("What?") Naruto asked.

("Tsunade would've been able to heal both of them. But I guess that's unnecessary with this girl around. Oh well; I have other reasons for bringing her.")

("You mean...") Sakura began. ("...you're about to elect her as Hokage?")

("Precisely.") Jiraiya smiled. ("She's perfect for the job. Only problem is...I don't know where she is.")

Robin sighed after hearing the conversation. "Well, this is just perfect." Robin growled as he threw his arms up. "The one guy who can help us is too busy finding the next village leader, and doesn't even know where to begin to look for our way home!"

Superboy straightened up. "Actually..." he began. "...this might work in our favor."

"What?" Kid Flash asked.

"Yes, I see..." Aqualad said as he finished his deep thoughts. "If we go with him, we may be able to explore the countryside, maybe even pick up on some clues for our way back home."

Robin's scowl slowly turned upside down. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that!?" Robin approached him. ("Okay. Just give us a few hours, and we'll be on our way...")

("Sorry, but no.") Jiraiya said, holding up his hand. ( "Look, I want to help you. But my village comes first. I can't get distracted right now, and even if we focused on looking for her, taking you all at once will attract too much attention. I can't risk having other people come looking for her, and if she gets word of a strange crowd trying to find her, she'll bolt.")

Those fluent in Japanese only looked at him in silence; those who weren't had a feeling he didn't say any good news. ("It sounds like she doesn't even want this job...") Artemis commented.

("I know her pretty well.") Jiraiya confirmed. ("She's...complicated. But she is the best person for the job, and I know I can convince her to take it.")

("Then how about this.") Superboy approached him. ("I have a way of getting you to wherever you need to go faster. It will just be me and Kid Flash, along with you. We can hide our mode of transportation wherever you need, and we can keep quiet.")

Jiraiya thought about it for a minute...then, albeit reluctantly, nodded his head. ("Okay then. I guess we can give this arrangement a try.")

Superboy then explained his plan to Kid Flash. "Why me?"

"Because, in the unlikely event we do discover a portal, it doesn't mean it will stay open long enough for us to get through. Not all of us. If that happens, we'll need you to go through it. At least that way, The League may be able to find out a way to reach the rest of us from the other side."

"Oh." Kid Flash said, scratching the back of his head. "I get it. Okay, then! Let's go!" he exclaimed excitedly.

"Hold it!" Artemis suddenly interrupted as she gripped his shoulder. "You can't go! Not yet!"

"Whaddya-OW!" Wally noticed his cast was bleeding, fresh from the wound Itachi inflicted upon him.

"Come on." Artemis said, tugging on his arm gently. "We need to get this fixed up before you go."

Jiraiya had seen many strange things in his life. These new kids were topping the list. But even that couldn't prepare him for this. ("Uh...just what IS this thing? And how is it supposed to act as a mode of transportation?") he said, eying a large metal ball that seemed to be alive.

Superboy gave him his infamous glare. ("HER name is Sphere. She is a machine with many modes. One of which is a Super-cycle mode.")

("Super-cycle?") As if on command, the metal ball unfolded into some kind of vehicle. Jiraiya would have guessed it to be some kind of bicycle, but he could see this wasn't the type of vehicle you peddled. ("Just...just how fast is this thing?")

("We don't know her full potential yet; I don't like to push her unless it's an emergency. But I have gotten her up to Mach 1 in my spare time." )

("Mach 1?") Jiraiya asked perplexed.

Realizing the terminology was lost on him, Superboy explained ("In our world, that's our terminology for the Speed of Sound.") Jiraiya only looked at him with wide eyes. ("Don't worry; we're not going to go that fast. Maybe a tenth that speed." )

Jiraiya looked around, tapping his foot nervously. ("Fine.") he sighed. ("Just not too fast, okay? Besides, I plan on bringing Naruto with me.")

Superboy looked at him quizzically. ("Why?")

("There's been something I wanted to teach him. I planned on dragging him with me while we were on foot." )

("You really think you'll have time to teach him something at a time like this?") Superboy asked skeptically.

("I hope I can have him get down the basics of the jutsu at least.") Jiraiya replied.

Superboy rolled his eyes. ("Whatever. As long as you focus on the task at hand.")

("Okay then. Give me a few minutes to talk to him.") Jiraiya told him as he walked off to find Naruto.

"So...we good to go?" Superboy turned around to find Wally approaching him, Artemis walking right next to him.

Superboy then eyed his cast; it was covered in even more bandages and placed into a sling. Superboy looked straight at Artemis. "What?!" she snapped. "It was the best I could do!"

"Sorry." Superboy held his arms up in defense. "Clearly though, you're no doctor." he elaborated

"Hey, let's not worry about it." Wally interrupted. "We go back home and I'll get it fixed up again. Besides, isn't this new Hokage or whatever you call supposed to be a healer? Maybe she'll fix me up!" he smiled.

Superboy only quirked an eyebrow to that. "Uh, realistically, I don't think she'll be able to do much."

"Hey. Every little bit helps!" Wally replied, refusing to lose enthusiasm.

After a few minutes, Jiraiya returned with Naruto, who was packed and ready to go. The boy looked eager, and kept asking the hermit exciting questions. Or dumb ones, to be more accurate. ("So, what exactly are you going to teach me this time!?") the blonde asked excitedly. ("The Sky Walk? Ooh, maybe the fire walk!")

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. ("There are no such things.") Taking a deep breath to regain his patience, he sighed. ("What I plan on teaching you is a jutsu created by the Yodaime Hokage.")

("COOL!") Naruto exclaimed.

("And as I promised you, it's much better than Chidori.") Jiraiya reminded him.

("Okay then.") Superboy said as he approached the two. ("Are we ready to go?")

("I'm ready!") Naruto shouted excitedly. ("We just had to drop off Kakashi and Sasuke at the hospital and get a few things!)

Superboy mounted his Supercycle, as Kid Flash and the two ninja squeezed into the sidecar. "Kaldur, you know how to take care of Wolf, right?"

"I'll do my best." The Atlantean replied. "And good luck."

"We'll be seeing you later." Robin said. "But don't take too long, okay? He seems..." Robin tried to choose his next words carefully, even if he was speaking in English. "...distractable."

"What do you mean?" Superboy asked.

"...Just keep an eye on him." Robin repeated.

"Remember, KF. No more fighting bullshit until your arm gets healed, okay?" Artemis scolded him.

"I got it, jeez!" Kid Flash groaned. "SB, are we ready to go now?"

"Yeah."

"Conner." Miss Martian contacted him telepathically. "Stay safe."

Superboy gave her the faintest of smiles. "Don't worry. I will." He revved Sphere's engine, and the cycle took off into the sky.

("YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THIS THING WOULD GO UP IN THE AIR!") Jiraiya yelled as the cycle flew well above the tree-line, his hands clutching the sides of the vehicle as if his life depended upon it.

( "Sorry.") Superboy replied. ("Should have thought of telling you that.")

("Oh, come on, Ero-senin!") Naruto replied, smiling with glee as he looked around. ("THIS IS AWESOME!")

("We're a good ways from Konoha.") Superboy said. ("Got any ideas on where to stop first?")

("There's a town, about 50 km from here in that direction.") Jiraiya pointed. ("That's as good a place as any to start.") Just then, he began to weave back and fourth slightly, his breathing getting deeper.

"Uh, you okay there?" Kid Flash asked, forgetting about the language barrier.

("I think I'm going to be sick.") Jiraiya said just before the inevitable happened.

A terrible, retching sound echoed throughout the skyline, and 3 people, one in Japanese and two in English, said the same thing. "AW MAN!"

So, there you have it! The hunt for Tsunade with Superboy and Kid Flash shall begin! Sadly...not for a long time. Sorry. I really can't say when this will be updated; I've got so much on my plate as it is. But I hope you enjoyed what I did put down! See you all later!