Konoha : Naruto's playground

'For the good of the mission...'

"I need not remind you of your role in this organisation."

Uchiha Itachi remained motionless, his face a disguise of indifference as he knelt before a man clothed in black robes. The only striking feature about the man was the gaudy orange mask covering his face; the surface coated in swirls and only a single hole indicating that he indeed could still see.

'For the good of the Village...'

"You will move immediately. I will see you when you return."

The black-clad man swept his robes around him as he turned his back to the teenager, the one-sided conversation ended with a note of finality. Itachi stood, his crimson orbs disappearing in the unending shadows as he closed his eyes.

'We sacrifice the Uchiha Clan...'

He exited the cave, the sudden change in environment battering his already defeated soul. Rain poured in sheets from the heavens, the heavy clouds breaking their stores as they wept at the soul-rending agony placed inside a single body. The Uchiha's murderer looked up at the sky, the clouds the colour of smoke and not a single ray of the morning's sun was able to pierce the darkness with its life giving radiance.

'...And we look towards the future...'

The rain pattered onto his closed eyelids, rolling down the crevices of his face and dripping from just below his chin. He could shed no tears, yet the rain cried for him.

'Will you help us, Uchiha Itachi?'

"Will you help us destroy to protect, or will you protect that which will destroy?"

He whispered the final sentence as his eyes opened once more, the once obsidian gaze replaced by the red of the Sharingan. The three Tomoe of the famous Bloodline Limit spun in their orbit, memorising, calculating and categorising every drop of the liquid it could view. He was quickly drenched through to the bone as he stood with no protection from the downpour; the rain was the last thing on his mind.

Without a single look back, he leaped forward, his black ponytail flapping from the motion.

XXXXXXX

"So here's the deal."

Naruto grinned as his Uchiha friend spread a map of Wave Country on a flat rock to the side of the clearing they were using as their unofficial 'base'. The team of four were gathered around their Captain, each one of them scrutinising the area depicted on the map. Shisui pointed to three locations ringed by a red marker pen.

"These are the possible locations of the Nuke-nin's base. Information was sketchy and the outskirts that we knew that were definitely attacked had no survivors. The other inhabitants were reluctant to give us any too, so we're going to split into two groups so we can locate it."

Shisui looked up as Anko grunted.

"Who commissioned this mission in the first place?"

Shisui frowned at the purple-haired Kunoichi. Naruto scratched an itch on his nose.

"The client is listed as 'The CEO of Wave Constructions ltd'. That's about all I have; meeting with the client isn't an objective though so it has little importance."

Anko nodded reluctantly at his logic. Sure, it wasn't the best of situations, but the little they did have was useful.

"Team A will be me and Taka. Team B will be Anko and Naruto. You two will-"

"HEY! What's with the names?! At least let us use somthin' cool!"

Anko grinned into her hand as Shisui looked at the blond Jinchuuriki in shock.

"What?! What's wrong with A and B?"

The Uzumaki heir bounced on the balls of his feet as he raised an accusatory finger.

"Ah, come on Shisui! That's borin'! A and B? Sooooooo unoriginal!"

Shisui looked taken aback by the suggestion that he was anything but original. It was just a name for God's sake! He decided to humour him though; a mission without Naruto's backing would be a commitment to futility.

"Well what would you suggest?"

The twelve year old 'hmmed' as he leaned on the rock, the trees swaying as if in symphony. Suddenly, he threw up a fist to show he had an idea. Shisui almost groaned.

"I know! You two can be Team Emo and us two'll be Team Budgie!"

"...Team Budgie?"

All three turned to stare at the blond although you really couldn't tell with Taka. The only indication that the ANBU operative was paying attention to what the young prank-master was saying was that the ever present porcelain mask was aimed in his direction.

"Well duh! I'm not gonna go searchin' by foot am I?! I brought my Airboard for a reason!"

Anko scratched a spot on the nape of her neck in confusion as she asked what seemed to be on everyone else's minds.

"Yeah...but why Budgie?"

Naruto grinned widely, his yellowing teeth showing through the gap in his lips.

"I like Budgies!"

The other three sweat-dropped. What kind of reason was that?!

"Anyway...Team...Emo will go through the Village and see what clues we can pick up whilst Team Budgie does some aerial reconnaissance. Is everyone clear on what they have to do?"

He got two nods and one enthusiastic 'HAI!' Nodding in acceptance, he rolled up the map and stowed it within his utility pouch. The mission wasn't technically difficult. As he had explained to the other three just moments ago, their objective was to root out and destroy the Nuke-nin base that had been plaguing the peaceful atmosphere of Nami no Kuni recently. The missing-nin had obviously been alerted to their presence as soon as they had gotten near if the previous day's welcome was anything to go by, yet they wouldn't know the cause of the disturbance. That was an advantage they still held; the element of surprise was still very much in their grasp, the only remaining criteria that needed to be cleared before they could move in was the location of the base.

Wave Country had prospered recently, the financial situation leading to a position of neutrality no other Country could say they held. Due to its bolstered trade relations with three of the biggest powers on the continent, Konoha, Kumo and Kiri were reluctant to do anything that would destroy the status quo. All three nations were committed to protecting their trade-routes and as Wave fell into that category, they were committed to its safety. Shisui didn't know if any other Shinobi Villages had been asked for help as Konoha had been, but the main thing was that they completed their objective and returned to Konoha.

As he packed his camping equipment into a large duffel bag, Shisui contemplated the two teams he had designated. Putting Anko and Naruto together was the only choice for them two; it was also the best one available. Anko had trained the blond personally for two years in Taijutsu and they could work in tandem very well. If Kakashi had been with them, they would have had the best possible team as the two pairs would have been co-ordinated as he saw fit. They had all worked together at some point and each of them could probably tell what decision the other was going to make in a fight. As the Silver-haired ex-ANBU Captain was absent, Shisui was the best person to pair with Taka. There was another reason for this pairing though.

Shisui had an ANBU mask, something which Anko no longer had and neither did Naruto. For this reason he and Taka could avoid any detection whilst scoping out the Village for clues. In their position, 'Team Budgie' was best placed in a recon capacity and this was the reasoning behind the Uchiha Survivor's plan.

Placing his fully packed bag onto a sealing scroll, he bit his thumb and sealed the bag into the scroll with a single swipe. Pocketing the scroll, he turned to the other three.

"OK. Move out immediately. Taka, on me."

Taka appeared by his side in an instant and the two took off in the direction they knew Wave's new bridge was located.

"Alright brat, you get up there on your Airboard and check out the area. Don't worry about me; I'll be right underneath you unless you go through an area without any cover. I'll be right underneath you most of the time. Make sure you radio in if you find anythin'."

The Mitarashi pitched a small, black receiver at the blond which he promptly caught. He turned it over in his hand, inspecting the grooves and latches that covered the side obviously meant for the outside of his ear.

"What should I be looking for?"

Anko pushed a Kunai into the band around her bicep, the handle of the blade facing downwards for easy access. She turned to him as he placed the receiver in his ear and powered it on. It crackled for a second before falling silent, a light swishing noise apparent in the background.

"Can you hear me?"

Naruto nodded as he waited for her to answer his question.

"We're looking for anything moderately sized, possibly a warehouse or somethin' similar. It should have a lot of Shinobi with scratched out headbands around it. Remember the map Shisui showed us?"

Naruto nodded again.

"We'll check to the north first. Remember, I'm right behind ya' if you need me."

Naruto tightened his arm-strap before reaching behind his back and slipping his Airboard free from underneath his Ryu-Zashi. Channelling Chakra into his hand he caused the board to hover as he hopped gracefully onto its surface. As he lifted away from the ground, the turbulence kicked up a large cloud of earth and grass, dislodging a few leaves from the nearby trees in a vortex of wind. He rose steadily, his body bent low to the surface of the Airboard and one hand securely grasping the right hilt of one of his blades. Just as he cleared the canopy, he caught sight of Anko signalling the direction he was meant to move and so he spun and moved off slowly.

He had recently finalised the new design of his Airboard. The previous iteration, fondly dubbed as 'that tree branch' by his three Jounin friends, had taken to many hits for it to be safely used. It was easy to break and the shape wasn't what one could consider as being aerodynamic. But then, he hadn't really been aiming for something fancy in the first place; all he really wanted was to see if his Sealing ideas could actually work, the Airboard kind of snowballed as an idea after that.

The design had been completely revamped. With the help of Anko, the blond Jinchuuriki had gotten a hold on a standard surfboard. He'd stripped the entire body free of any bloated modernity and added a few touches of his own to make it the fastest and most efficient ride he could possibly achieve. Adding the Elemental Seals directly to the surface of two fins on the underside of the board, he was able to gain a marginal speed boost; he could now travel at insanely fast speeds if he wanted to. The fins had aided in a much more precise steering experience, the directional Elemental seals could be placed in appropriate positions around the fins to get a very sensitive control on the motions he would need. He was proud of his work and it showed in the fact that he would take it with him wherever he went.

"Alright, don't go too fast or I won't be able to keep up. Keep movin' in that direction, we should hit the first target in a few minutes."

Naruto frowned as he stared down in the direction they were heading. It was an area clear of any sort of plant life, only a single bungalow resting in the middle. It was dark and shrouded in a brown cloth, causing it to stick out like a sore thumb in the morning sun. He looked towards the East to find a massive bridge stretching out from their side of the continent; a huge body of water beneath it. He remembered it from the last time he had been here, the endless stretch of water leading to a Village on the outskirts of the island. There was a hill there that had two rough trenches gauged into the ground, the only evidence of a stunt gone wrong two years ago.

Even now as he looked down, he could see the smiling faces of Inari and his family. He had to make sure that he visited them before he headed back to Konoha. He really wanted to see them again. Shaking his thoughts from his head, he went back to searching the terrain for anything suspicious. From his vantage point, people would look really small and he probably wouldn't be able to make out a Hitai-ite at all. At least he had Anko's help down below.

His mind strayed once again as he floated on the clouds, the white puffy formations of moisture drifting lazily by giving the impression of a rather disconnected dream. His mind grew hazy as the sting of the cold droplets forming on his open skin bit through his senses. Everything was so calm, so peaceful...he felt like he could just-

"...RUTO! GET DOWN FROM THERE BRAT! YOU'RE GONNA DIE IF YOY RISE ANY HIGHER!"

Naruto shook his head blearily, futilely attempting to clear the funk covering his senses. He attempted to raise his hand to brush over the droplets that were slowly freezing on his cheeks, only to find that his body wouldn't respond. He quickly cut his Chakra output and allowed the Airboard to plummet to the ground. After a few seconds of free-fall, he bolstered the propulsion seal and remained steady at his current height. That was dangerous, too dangerous. He'd risen so far up that the air temperature was at frigid levels. He could hardly breathe up there and he would have died if he had fainted...

"Gaki, pay attention! Do you see anythin' around you?"

Naruto looked down, attempting to find his friend in the sea of greens and browns below him. He couldn't make out anything from his height. When he replied, it came low and soft; Anko could only worry about what was going on up there.

"No...there's nothing. The building is empty too..."

Anko sighed as she alighted on a tree branch, placing a supportive hand on the trunk of the elm. She lowered her head to wipe the perspiration dripping from her forehead. Naruto may have been going slow, but on the surface she had to sprint to keep up.

"Alright. We'll move west next. Keep up the same pace, we can be finished by lunch time."

Naruto hummed in response as he turned to their new direction. He looked towards the sun and was forced to shield his eyes from the dazzling light piercing his eyelids. Channelling more Chakra to the Wind Control Seal, he moved off towards their next target.

XXXXXXX

"TenTen, keep up!"

TenTen panted as she followed after her Sensei and teammates. They were scouting the north-western area beyond the bridge, their last round before they were to head back to their hotel. Patrol missions were always the most tiresome and boring of tasks that a Shinobi had to perform, the fact that this was actually a C-Rank totally absent from her mind. Wave Country was a nice place; beautifully scenic both in the morning and at night. The air was fresh and clean, the inhabitants were wealthy and appropriately situated. One could get lost in the swing of things as easily as they might come.

The brown-haired Kunoichi didn't know why the security had to be so tight as to warrant a patrol mission; there wasn't any trouble in the surroundings areas and from what they did know, the three main powers in the vicinity were very unlikely to try anything underhanded. Wave was just too important to them at the moment.

She glanced up as she jumped from another tree, her arms swinging by her sides in the wind. It was refreshing, especially with the cool, pure air that seemed to be a mainstay in the country. She breathed in deeply, a slightly sweet tasted tingeing on her tongue as she did so. She briefly spied Neji on point springing from another bough hanging low, the thick wood just in the right position for tree-jumping.

Nothing could have prepared her for what happened next. In an instant that flashed by so fast that her head was left buzzing from the occurrence, a stump of a tree slammed sideways into her body, just below her armpit. For a brief moment, she saw Neji spin around, his arm outstretched as if to ward off an enemy before he was lost beyond the next bunch of trees. Her world spun 720 degrees as she pin wheeled in the air, diverted by the blow to her side.

Just as she was about to crash into an imposing elm tree, something broad and solid caught her around the middle. Maito Gai grunted from the strain as he struggled to contain the force of their movement. He landed awkwardly, tumbling sideways and releasing his student as he was forced to roll to prevent any damage to himself.

TenTen groaned as she hit the dirt, the large scroll attached to her back dislodged from its pin and rolled a short distance away from her. As she attempted to raise her head, a dull throbbing pain spread down her side. She yelped and stilled immediately, her chin nestled uncomfortably into a pile of pine needles. The sharp objects poked into her skin leaving an itchy feeling behind, one which she couldn't scratch due to the pain wracking her body.

She heard a muffled shout and a dark form blew right over the top of her head. She couldn't make out any defining features of the shape; it could've been a person for all she knew.

"TenTen, TENTEN! Are you alright? Can you move?"

She stared upwards lethargically, the adrenaline in her system abating as she was suddenly hit by a wave of fatigue. Something struck her face lightly as she struggled to stay conscious.

"Stay awake! We need to get you out of here! LEE, BEHIND YOU!"

Distantly, she recognised the voice belonging to Gai-Sensei as something heavy slammed into the ground next to her, an explosion of dirt and more pine-needles pelting her injured body. Someone grabbed the collar of her shirt and pulled her upright into a sitting position, a strong arm supporting her back.

"G-Gai-Sensei...W-What happened?" She managed to gasp out her question through the pain shooting up her spine.

"Shh, rest easy TenTen. It seems we've been attacked by a group of missing-nin. LEE, HAVE YOU SEEN NEJI?"

TenTen tried to focus her eyes on the other smaller form approaching them, but she couldn't make him out properly. She could only see a lot of green. She felt so very tired...

"No Gai-Sensei! He shouldn't be too far ahead though. I'm going to check."

Lee turned and pounded off through the trees sending tremors through the soft Earth of Nami no Kuni.

"LEE, WAIT!"

Gai sighed as his student didn't look back. His enthusiasm and concern was commendable, but in this situation splitting from the main group was foolhardy at best. They needed backup if the number of nin were taken into account; this wasn't some small band of Shinobi, these were missing-nin from Iwa, possibly all at Jounin level. The Earth Jutsu that had been thrown their way was a clever trap designed to instantly incapacitate the enemy; Gai neither knew the name nor did he care for it. One of his students was injured and the other two were most probably fighting for their lives.

Reaching up to the Velcro pouch attached to his vest, he ripped the opening off and caught the Chakra flair as it fell. He didn't want to alert the ex-Iwa-nin to his power level, they'd come swarming out of the woodwork if he did, so he couldn't use the Chakra Beacon in this situation. The Sandaime had hinted at another mission in progress in the same area so hopefully those same Konoha Shinobi could come to their assistance. With a small 'pop' he pulled the cap off the flair and tossed it to the ground below an opening in the canopy. The flair hissed for a few seconds before spewing bright pinky-red gas into the air.

Gai looked down at his female student; she didn't look good at all. There were most likely a few broken ribs from the hit she had taken and he knew nothing about medical Ninjutsu. All he could do would be to bandage the area and sit tight for either his other two students to save themselves or for reinforcements to arrive. It was a hard choice to make, but TenTen was injured and the missing-nin would have no qualms about offing a lone, injured Konoha Kunoichi if they had the chance. He believed in his students.

They'd all make it out alive; he prayed that he was right.

XXXXXXX

"You've got to be freakin' kidding me..."

Shisui muttered darkly under his mask as he raced through the alleyways of the Village on the outskirts of Wave. His scouting mission had been a success, but what he had found was not good news at all.

Having exhausted all avenues of gathering the information he needed covertly, he decided to search out this 'CEO' of the Construction Company. Taka was sent on a similar job to the other side of town and so Shisui had free reign. He wasn't disappointed.

The man's name was Tazuna, a brawny, tanned bridge-builder whose main project had been the same 'Naruto and Kaiza Bridge' that the two ANBU operatives had travelled across to get there. He wanted to question him on the name of the bridge but was forced to put it off when the situation was brought up.

Tazuna had said that a whole garrison of Iwa Missing-nin had shown up recently and holed themselves up in a large bungalow about an hour's run from the Village. It was a shady place from what the CEO had said, a place no Villager would ever want to see and for the most part they stayed away from it. Tazuna had marked the building on his map; it wasn't any of the places they had thought it was and Shisui knew that the Konoha patrol was most likely going to pass through that area. He cursed his fortune as he pulled out the scroll detailing their patrol routes; that area was designated for ten minutes prior and it was their last round for the day.

He had set off immediately, he didn't have time to find Taka and inform the ninja of the situation. If what Tazuna had said was correct, there could be upwards of twenty Missing-nin guarding the area and that didn't spell anything good for Team 9.

As he ran he glanced upwards, attempting to locate Naruto is he could. He looked to the north and spotted a small black speck lazily floating towards the same direction he was heading. He nearly stopped but then thought better of it. He wouldn't be able to contact 'Team Budgie' from this distance; he would just have to rely on them getting there whenever they could.

Turning back to his destination he immediately recognised the red smoke flare specific to Konoha. Well that was his answer, they needed help and Naruto would probably spot that before too long.

He deftly swung from a laundry pole and launched himself from the alleyway directly onto Wave's biggest landmark.

He hoped Gai was alright...

XXXXXX

"What you got Gaki?"

Naruto squinted to the West as he saw a large column of pink gas blossom upwards from a clump of trees a ways away from their current position. Frowning, he pushed the 'send' button on his receiver as he replied.

"Umm...I dunno what it is, but I can see some pink smoke comin' up to the east."

He heard his ex-Sensei gasp at his words.

"What? What's wrong Anko-nee?"

There was silence for a while and Naruto could hear a lot of rustling and grunting in the background. When she did speak, the purple-haired Jounin's voice was low and hurried.

"That's a Konoha Signal Flare! Someone's asking for help down there!"

Naruto's eyes widened at that. Help? Could it be one from Team Emo?

"Do you think it's Shisui?"

He pictured her shaking her head as she spoke.

"Nah, I don't think it is either of them two. They went in the direction of the Village so it's gotta be someone else. Shisui didn't mention nothin' about another Team bein' here though..."

The Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki scratched the back of his head lightly. What the hell was going on here?

"At any rate, we had better get down there right now. We'll have to split up. Head there as fast as you can, I'll be right behind ya'."

Naruto hesitated for a second.

"You sure that's a good idea? What if we run into those missing-nin whilst we go?"

Anko sighed on the other end and a brain-zapping screech was given off from the earpiece leaving the two with a ringing sensation in their ears.

"Damn, radio crap...We'll have to take that risk kid. You'll get there faster and it's the best option we have right now."

Naruto nodded, glancing down at the sea of green leaves depicting the top of the canopy. It was a glorious day in Wave, the sun was high and the sky was blue. A gentle breeze rippled across the area from the direction of the ocean producing a wave-like effect on top of the mass of leaves and branches. Naruto glanced down at where he thought his friend might be before increasing the output to maximum in his propulsion seal.

The effect was instantaneous.

In a high pitched scream of wind, the Airboard accelerated rapidly, his environment twisted and stretched, shooting by at breakneck speeds as he tore through the air towards his target. He bent low to the surface of the board, attempting to minimise the ferocious winds threatening to rip him from his ride and hurl him towards a grisly death. The flare was approaching fast as he zeroed in on its position. He vision tunnelled as he stared straight ahead, aiming for the clearing where the smoky gas was spewing forth from.

In a flash, he sighted the slumped form of a girl leaning against a tree with two Shinobi standing above her. He hardly paid attention to the details; if the flare went up; it meant that the losing side was most probably the Konoha Team. He angled straight towards the two Missing-nin, readying himself to jump. He hit the top of the canopy in an explosion of leaves, the Airboard ripping right through like a bullet, tearing a jagged hole in the top of the treeline.

He couldn't use a Jutsu whilst he was using the Airboard, it would divert the flow of Chakra and he'd most likely miss his target. He had to time his move just right to make the most of his element of surprise.

And what a surprise it would be.

He leapt; hands already forming handseals as he spun in mid-air, his form still hunched over as twigs and branches bit into his body all around him, snapping and snagging on his clothes as he barrelled towards the ground.

The two missing-nin looked up as they heard a high-pitched whine approaching them. The one on the right only had the time to release a girly scream before the aerial projectile blew him straight off his feet. The starboard scored a direct hit to the side of his neck, no doubt killing him instantly and TenTen could only watch in shock and awe as the man's body disappeared so fast that it was like he was never there in the first place.

She looked to the other Shinobi just as he was hit in the stomach by a massive water-ball. There was a screeching sound in the trees to her right and she just managed to catch a flash of silver, black and gold as something came shooting from the trees, crashing straight into the Shinobi trying to catch his breath from the previous hit he had sustained.

"'R-Ruto?"

The blond Jinchuuriki landed heavily, panting from the crazy stunt he had just pulled off. After he'd released his Teppodama he'd pulled a roll of wire from his utility pouch and uncoiled it using his teeth. That was a major feat in mid-air and it had taken a lot of concentration to do it. He'd flown right past his target and as he'd been about to hit a tree head-first, he'd twirled around it, stretching the two ends of the ninja wire as far as they could go. It had snagged around the branch, digging a trench in the wood as he was forced to orbit the limb, sling-shotting his body right back at the clearing.

He gasped as he recognised the girl he had seen from the air.

"T-TenTen?!"

She threw herself at him, disregarding the excruciating pain that stabbed through her body from the movement. With an 'oof!' he caught her and they tumbled to the forest floor in a heap.

"W-Where...I mean...W-What...Why are you here? How did y-you get here..."

She trailed off as she tightened her hold around his waist. Naruto hesitated as he looked down at the back of her head. She was acting really weird...what was he meant to do?

It was then that he noticed she was crying, the damp feeling spreading across his chest as her tears seeped through the thin cotton of his black T-Shirt. She was shivering very hard, almost as if she had been left out in a single layer of clothes deep in winter. Somehow, Naruto doubted it had anything to do with the weather.

"...-orry..."

"Huh?"

She raised her head to glance at him and he was taken aback by the raw emotion exuding from her chocolate eyes as she gazed tearfully upwards, tears leaking from the corners and dripping down her face.

"I said I'm s-sorry...Sorry f-for everything I did to you..."

She laughed bitterly, her mouth gaping in a silent scream of agony from the injury to her side. A mixture of a hiccup and a groan tore itself from her throat as she attempted to continue.

"Look, you saved m-me again..."

She laughed again, her whole form trembling as all the energy seemed to evaporate from her limbs leaving a shell of a human dumped on his torso.

'I swore to forgive her if she really meant it...'

"All those y-years..."

Naruto gave a start as she mumbled into his stomach.

"All t-those years a-after I left...I thought you w-were the one who b-betrayed me...but then I r-realised that it w-wasn't like that at all..."

She trailed off as she sniffed, another stab of pain ripping through her side as she did. This time she emitted a small yelp of pain and Naruto's eyes widened as his hand rested on her right side. It was swollen, badly; even from over her clothes he could feel the pressure of the inflammation against his hand. That had to be a bad injury.

"TenTen-"

"I was the one who betrayed you! I WAS THE ONE BEING STUPID ALL THAT TIME! I JUST WANTED EVERYTHING TO GO BACK TO NORMAL! I just wanted you...to...come back..."

She gasped in pain again as she curled up into a ball, her face scrunching up from the shock of the feeling. Naruto decided there and then that he'd heard enough. He couldn't not forgive her when she was in this state. Besides, it seemed like she had realised what had happened anyway.

He raised his hand, wiping the mud from her cheek, leaving a long brown smudge on her face. She jolted at the touch and looked up at him in surprise. He smiled slightly.

A radiant smile blossomed on her face, her tears still falling from her eyes. Her face glowed as she realised he had forgiven her, even though he didn't have to, even though she owed him so much...

"Ten-chan, where's your team? We can talk later."

She nodded and he gently slid from underneath her, guiding her back into a sitting position. He'd called her that nickname again...after so long she had heard it from his mouth. It was enough for her, enough that he was safe, that he had forgiven her. It was enough that they were friends again. The familiar warmth blossomed in Naruto's soul as he saw her smile again; no matter how much he tried to stay indifferent, no matter how much he told himself that he shouldn't forgive her so easily...

He knew it was genuine this time.

"Gai-Sensei got a-attacked by four Missing-nin whilst he was guarding me."

She took a deep breath, wincing as she pressed a hand to her right side.

"I think he w-went in that direction."

She pointed to the right, the direction Naruto had come from. Suddenly he heard a crackling sound in his ear.

"...you got...What did you find down there Gaki?!"

"ANKO-NEE?"

She replied in the affirmative. Naruto felt oddly relieved.

"I'm comin' up on your position now. What's goin' on down there?"

Naruto cupped his mouth as he spoke into the microphone.

"Anko-nee, I've found TenTen. I don't know what Team she was on but her Sensei's been attacked by four missing-nin in your direction. What should I do? There are no enemies down here-"

"TENTEN!"

Naruto whipped around as two forms landed right between him and the brown-haired weapons-specialist. The White-eyed one eyes him suspiciously, his arms raised in what Naruto recognised as a Taijutsu stance.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Naruto shook his head and pointed at TenTen. The boy was roughed up pretty badly, a long thin cut on the side of his neck. Naruto winced as he saw it; that was a bit too close to the Jugular vein...

"Stay where you are brat! That's Team 9. Those two should be Rock Lee and Hyuuga Neji. Stay with them until me or one of our team get there. Don't move from your position!"

The line went dead as Naruto affirmed her orders.

He turned back to the three and was startled to find the boy with the centre-parting and large, bushy eyebrows staring at him intently.

"Err...What?"

"So you are Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. What did that have to do with anything? Weren't they in an emergency situation?

"Umm...yes?"

Naruto stepped back quickly as the boy appeared right in his face, a large grin spread from ear-to-ear.

'FAST!'

"I'm Rock Lee! Nice to meet you! I've heard so much about you from TenTen!"

Naruto turned to regard the panda-styled Kunoichi. Her eyes were closed and her head was tilted back, resting on the tree behind her.

"You have?"

"YES! I heard you were the one who pulled that stunt on the academy a few years ago!"

The Hyuuga's head whipped around so fast that Naruto thought he heard it crack.

"Ehehehe...yeah...that was me..."

Neji's face went red in anger and he looked like he was about to explode when the arrival of a certain ANBU operative delayed any outburst he may have had.

"Uzumaki-san, what is the situation?"

Lee and Neji's eyes widened in awe as the beige-cloaked ANBU landed so silently in their midst. They hadn't detected the Shinobi at all and if the operative hadn't spoken they wouldn't have known anyone was there. The fact that the elite ninja was asking of the boy who looked younger than them only served to increase the mystery surrounding the blond.

Just how strong was he?

"I took out two of 'em," he pointed to the two bodies lying on the floor. One's neck was bent at an odd angle and Taka raised an eyebrow at the man. He was dead. It seemed like he had been killed by a ferocious hit to the side of his neck; the bones looked totally pulverised from where the ANBU stood.

"Their Sensei is around here somewhere. Apparently he got attacked by four more of them."

Taka nodded in response.

"We'll leave them here for now. Taicho should have arrived here before me, I sensed his Chakra a while ago. We will move onto the next objective so I will be taking command for now."

Hyuuga Neji was shocked speechless. This...brat was on the same team as an ANBU and he had killed a Jounin level ninja all by himself coming out without a scratch on him. Just what was going on here? In a flash of memory, he remembered the feeling of his head burning and having to go home crying. His white hot anger returned quickly, coursing through his veins like fire.

The two disappeared in a brief show of speed; the blond reappeared for a small moment to pick up his Airboard before he took off in the same direction as his teammate.

"Neji-san! Did you see that?! It was almost as fast as Gai-Sensei at top speed!"

Neji 'humphed' unconvincingly as his Byakugan was activated, tracking the two whilst they moved.

"He was strong..."

Neji raised a thin eyebrow at his male teammate's remark.

"He was very strong Neji-san. Stronger than us two...much, much stronger than us..."

Neji crossed his arms over his chest as he sat daintily next to his female teammate. She was drifting in and out of consciousness now; there was nothing he or Lee could do to help her. He sighed as he deactivated his bloodline and leaned back, allowing his long hair to cascade down his back. It was sweaty and tangled with leaves and other dirt from the forest floor from the time he'd had to roll to avoid a Kunai swipe to his neck. If Lee hadn't appeared when he did, it was quite likely that the Hyuuga prodigy would have died that day.

Not that he would tell him though.

Sighing again, he looked up at the shadowed canopy with his pupil-less white eyes. It was sweltering down here, like the midday in some sort of Amazon rainforest. Even the shadows of the huge elm trees surrounding them didn't offer much protection from the heat, yet they had to make do. He was so tired...so very tired...

XXXXXXX

Shisui ducked low, avoiding the strike that whistled over his head. Quickly he rolled to the side as a clump of Earth splattered where he had last stood.

'Dangerous!'

From the corner of his eye, he saw Gai place one hand on the ground and slam his foot into one of the Missing-nin's throat, sending him into the air. That one was dead; he was about to be hit by the Omoto-Renge, one of Gai's most deadly Taijutsu techniques.

Flipping onto his back, he rolled backwards, his Sharingan spinning as he moulded his Chakra. He had to take out the rest of them as quickly as possible and help the others. The criminals' base was probably on high alert now as evidenced by so many of them appearing in quick succession. They were throwing everything they had at the two teams and the Konoha Shinobi were beginning to buckle under the weight.

Jumping back to his feet he unleashed one of his best Genjutsu, the feared 'Shinkirou no Shisui's' trademark battle tactic. Not a single person in the entire World could pull off the things he could with such skill and efficiency. It wasn't the actual illusion that his opponent had to fear, it was the amount of layers he had used. Shisui wasn't known for the strength of his illusions, that was more Yuuhi Kurenai's talent than his. No, he was feared because of the number of illusions he could use at the same time, layering them on top of each other with such efficiency that only the most elite of Shinobi would be able to differentiate between what was real and what was not.

They could break a few layers, but they would never know how many layers there actually were, leaving them to question their surroundings, question things which they shouldn't have to normally. It was a fatal mistake on the battlefield and one that he could easily take advantage of.

"It's only three handseals. All you have to do is focus it to a single point in your hand. Focus it until it's as sharp as the sharpest blade...no, even sharper than that..."

Lightning crackled to life in his hand as a blade of pure electricity blossomed forth from his body.

'Never use it without the Sharingan. You know why it's named as it is? Because I once cut a lightning bolt with it...Yes, its name is..."

"RAIKIRI!"

With a single leap, he cleared the distance between he and his opponent, blowing a hole straight through his heart in a shower of blood and gore. He had no time to view his handy work though as he was forced to avoid another strike from behind by wrenching his arm free and cart wheeling fluidly. Kakashi's trademark Jutsu was very deadly indeed. The dead body slumped to the ground, spewing forth a dark red river of blood, dappling the once bright green and brown forest floor the colour of death.

As he avoided another blow from his new opponent, Gai's enemy came flying from the sky, smashing straight into his comrade, knocking them both out. Shisui sighed as he looked around for the last missing-nin; there were four originally and they'd only taken out three. Gai appeared behind him, pressing his back against his fellow Jounin as they left no gap in their defence.

"What do you reckon?"

"I don't know Shishi-san. You have a mission in the area?"

The Uchiha nodded quickly, his eyes flickering about as his Sharingan spun around his two irises.

"We had to locate these guys' base and take it out actually. I only noticed that you were crossing this path about twenty minutes ago. It was lucky you left that flair, I'm sure the rest of my team got there too."

Gai nodded thoughtfully as he scanned the surroundings. Where was the fourth guy? Was he hiding or running back to base?

A high pitched scream rang through the area and a large number of birds took flight to their right. Both Jounin looked in that direction as a body was thrown from high up in a tree to the forest floor along with two Kunai. The blades embedded themselves in the necks of the unconscious missing-nin and Mitarashi Anko landed lightly in front of her comrades.

"Damnit Shisui! When you flippin' tell us to go recon, you have to freakin' keep in touch with us at the same time! What the hell were you thinkin' keepin' such important info from the rest of your squad?"

She panted from her diatribe, eyes glaring at the Uchiha survivor who cowered from her wrath. She was hunched over, her hands grasping her knees as she stared up at the Shinobi, her face scrunched up in an angry snarl. Shisui felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as he realised what he had done.

He'd forgotten to tell them about Team 9...

"Shishi-Taicho, Uzumaki and I are moving in on the base-"

"WHAT?!"

Anko recoiled as Shisui reached up and grasped his receiver, his shout echoing through the clearing in his anger.

"I repeat, we are moving in on the base. Should we rendezvous with you before launching the attack? Uzumaki-san has assured me he can take out the building in one fell swoop."

Shisui almost grinned. The Konoha Jinchuuriki could probably do it too. There was a mission to complete though.

"Taka, you shouldn't have moved without consulting me first. Alright, continue the objective. We'll catch up with you as soon as we can."

The Uchiha released the 'send' button on his microphone and turned to face Gai.

"Gai, you need to get your team out of here ASAP. Naruto's going to blow this place sky high and you can't be here when he does. Understand? Take them back to Wave, you can rest and recuperate before leaving for home."

Gai saluted and winked at the Uchiha. He promptly hopped over to Anko and gave her a tight squeeze and a thumbs-up before dashing back towards the flair. Anko was left staring horrified at what he had done.

"I'M DYIN', I'M DYIN'! I'M BEIN' INFECTED BY THE GREEN!"

"The What?!"

Anko quickly shut her mouth and stared around guiltily.

"Err...nothin'"

Shisui sweat-dropped. It definitely sounded like something to him. Signalling with his hand, Shisui turned and ran as fast as he could in the direction Tazuna had marked on the map.

He wanted to see the fireworks after all!

XXXXXXX

"Are you sure you can do this Uzumaki-san? I know you are good at seals, but isn't this a bit too big for you?"

Naruto cocked his eyebrow at the strange ANBU agent. Taka's voice was slightly higher than a man's and Naruto was sure he knew exactly who was behind that mask, but he didn't want to say anything just yet.

"Can you just cut that out? You're freakin' me out talking like some machine or something! We've met before!"

Taka's mask tilted to the side in slight apprehension.

"For the sake of the mission, my identity must remain hidden."

"Yeah, but you're just a stupid clone anyway! Where's the real you?"

Behind the mask, a mouth was left wide open in stupefaction. Taka couldn't begin to guess how this astonishing twelve year old knew so much about the mission, but then again, Taka should have known if Taka's past dealings with the boy were anything to go by. Leaving the ANBU with leaves following them around all day was amazing enough as it was.

Taka decided right there and then that Taka wouldn't get involved if Uzumaki Naruto said he could do something. If he said he could do it, he probably could.

They had alighted on a thick branch overlooking the shadowed building. It was unlike any structure the ANBU operative had seen before; two conical shapes, one upended and placed on top of the other whilst the bottom was smaller than the cone above it. Windows were cut into the surface of the structure although there wasn't much light in the area to let in. It was suspended from the forest floor by thick cables attached to the surrounding trees and two plank-bridges extended from either side, serving as entrances and exits to the building. It was quite big and Taka didn't regret having doubts that the blond Jinchuuriki could destroy something like that in one go.

Naruto grinned and with a chuckle began forming handseals.

"Katon: Haisekishou!"

Taka's eyes widened behind the ANBU mask as the preteen blew out a huge cloud of ash. If that was lit by fire now they'd be toast! He had to move the cloud over to the building for it to have the effect he was obviously going for.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

Taka grinned behind the mask. Ingenious! Simply outstanding! Not only would the wind technique push the cloud of ash to its destination with the right control, but it would also fuel the fire and create a larger explosion.

The haze of ash drifted down towards the building, a large torrent of air whirling around it like a massive Rasengan. A shout of terror was heard and what must've been a guard jumped out from one of the entrances and began to advance in their direction. Taka hesitated for a moment, glancing at the Uzumaki heir to find him engrossed in the next set of handseals. Seeing that he was preoccupied and unprepared for dealing with this new threat, Taka started forward only to be stopped as a hand gripped her shoulder.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you."

Shishi-Taicho stood next to the two, Anko flanking his right hand side with a manic grin on her face. The Uchiha removed his hand and stepped back.

"Just watch. There's no way that guy is coming out alive from this."

Naruto finished sealing for his technique.

"Katon: KARYUU ENDAN!"

With a roar of power, a flaming dragon of pure heat shot from his mouth, speeding towards the ball of ash and wind. There were few words to describe the phenomenon that occurred as the two forces met.

The ball of ash and air only just covered the entirety of the building when the fire dragon hit. In a mighty explosion, the whole area was rocked as the building simply blew up in a majestic ball of orange and red. The Team of four were forced to shield their eyes from the brightness of the blast, the temperature suddenly sky-rocketing and baking the area dry of any moisture there may have been. The entire clearing lit up with the colour of the blast, charred rubble and ash flying outwards all around them.

It was the craziest, most insane use of three Jutsu any of them had ever seen. Taka turned fearful eyes on the twelve year old; he would be an absolute monster on the battlefield, it was a true shame that he had no intention of ever wearing the proud symbol of the leaf.

As the blast died down, a raging fire was left in its wake. The four stared at the inferno, the wood of the building only adding fuel to the flame. There was no sign of the guard and Naruto winced at what that meant. He'd killed more people on this mission than he had in his entire life. It was disconcerting and sickening to his very core, but deep down there was a small thrill of the kill, a baser instinct that seemed to be unafraid of everything the world had to offer.

'Is this the answer to my fear?'

Shisui glanced at the blond in concern. He had suddenly looked down at his hands with a steely glint to his sapphire eyes. What had he missed?

Shisui gasped as a thin Chokuto pierced his spine and exited through the front of his body. He was unable to see, unable to prevent the attack. His last thought before he collapsed, was who had the skill to sneak up on their team without any of them noticing.

And then all hell broke loose.

ZZZZZZ

OMAKEOMAKEOMAKE! Sasuke's Horrifying Discovery!

ZZZZZZZZZ

"Sasuke-kun! Can you come down here for a minute?"

Uchiha Sasuke grumbled as his mother called him from his room for something he had not the slightest clue was about. Stomping heavily, he slid the door open and gazed upon the sight of his mother holding up his boxer shorts as she was doing the laundry.

"Awww, your hair looks so nice today! You should always keep it like that!"

The Uchiha scowled but didn't retort. He wouldn't rise to the bait, although it was quite likely that his mother had no clue that he had actually been turned into a girl.

"Sasuke-kun, I was just doing your laundry and I noticed some blood on your underwear. Are you ok?"

Sasuke stood, his mind blank.

"Sasuke-kun! Sasuke!"

'N-No way...THIS...THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME! YOU CAN'T CHANGE SOMEONE'S ORGANS INSIDE THEIR BODY BY A SINGLE SEAL!'

"Sasuke, are you alright? You've gone deathly pale dear!"

With a strangled cry, the youngest Uchiha survivor fled the room.

Yes, he was in that time of the month for adolescent girls called The Period.

ZZZZZZZZZ