36 2/2

It also helped she willingly gave any and all information on the snake that she could think of. Her probation actually just ended a little over a year ago and she was inducted into Konoha's shinobi ranks as a Chunin. We hated each other.

"I'm doing well, Kenta! I was just doing some research on how to create portable barriers that can be activated by a genin with only a single tag. I've made some headway, but getting the strength for a passable barrier with such a minimal chakra cost is proving elusive. Come, let me make you some tea." She said as she led me into the kitchen.

"Sounds like a challenge, I'm sure you'll get it though. Where's everyone else?" I asked politely.

"The twins are at a friend's house, they should be home soon. Tayuya? Well she's around here somewhere." She told me as she prepared some tea.

The twins were the two other Uzumaki that Naruto had found. They were living as orphans in The Land of Storms when Naruto found them. Jiraiya had sent a message and my team was deployed to personally escort them to Konoha. By then Naruto had moved on, so we didn't get to see him, but we instead got two red-haired, mini Naruto's to take back with us. They were now 7 years old and in their second year of the core academy.

Both were just as loud and excitable as Naruto was at that age. It's a good thing not all Uzumaki were like that. Honoka was a very level headed and patient young woman. Though, the Uzumaki temper did seem to be a common trait shared, especially amongst the woman. At my last visit the twins told me a tale of a red-haired demon that had tried to eat them when they broke a vase rough housing in the living room.

"I thought I smelled perfume. The one and only Lady-Boy has graced us with her presence." An obnoxiously loud voice called out behind me.

"Tayuya Uzumaki that is no way to talk to Lord Kenta. You apologize right now." Honoka scolded the girl.

Tayuya muttered out a reply, but was soon cursing up a storm as I maturely stuck my tongue out at the older girls' chastisement.

"I see you're still waiting to hit puberty Tayuya. Don't worry, your voice will drop soon enough and that patchy mustache will fill in soon enough," I smirked.

She laughed loudly at that. Ok, we didn't hate each other. We just liked to trade barbs back and forth.

Honaka brought over the tray and set it down with an assortment of snacks. I thanked her and grabbed a cup.

"So, shithead, what brings you here? We heard about your promotion, that loud cousin of yours was telling everyone and their mother's." Tayuya asked, striking up conversation.

I rolled my eyes. "Of course she was, well then I'm sure she told you the other news?"

Honaka and Tayuya both gave me curious looks. I guess Ino didn't want to spoil the surprise? Or she forgot? Who knows?

"Naruto will be home within the week." I said smiling at the two girls.

Hanoka looked over the moon. She viewed Naruto as a younger brother, even if the kid was their clan head and leader.

Tayuya looked apprehensive. She didn't really get to know Naruto before he left. He was allowed to talk to her a few times while she was held prisoner. The only thing Tayuya knew was that Naruto, if he wanted, could turn her into a slave if he so desired with that strange power of his.

I smiled warmly at the girl. "You're going to love him, Tayuya. He's an older version of the twins. He won't ever use that power on you unless he was absolutely forced to. Naruto isn't that type of person. Trust me, I've known him the majority of my life."

She nodded hesitantly and relaxed just a bit. Good enough.

I spent the next few hours talking with the girls and catching up. It was a good time. Naruto was my best friend, I had to make sure his family liked me! I'd be seeing a lot of them over the years.

***********************************HU***********************************************

It had been a week since my meeting with Lord Fifth. Naruto should be home any day now. I was excited to see the blonde idiot. Everyone who had been in contact with me over the last 6 months constantly complained about my sour mood. I couldn't help it, he was supposed to have been home 6 months ago!

I glanced up at my lunch partner and smiled. Had you told me three years ago I would be sitting down for lunch with Ino and having a good time, I would have cuffed you and thrown you to Anko and Ibiki as an imposter. It's funny how these relationships worked.

A couple months after Naruto left, Ino came to my house to talk. We spent the next five hours just letting all the dirty laundry air. I didn't hold back, I told her everything. My resentment at her natural talent and how she was squandering it. How she was dragging our clan name into the mud with her behavior. How I wouldn't hesitate to rip the title of heir from her if she didn't get her shit together.

We talked and we talked for hours. By the end of it, it was like there was never any resentment between us to begin with. She told me of her training with Kurenai and Yugao. How she realized everything I said was true and that she felt horrible for her behavior. She let her fears known about the Elder's decision and that her father agreed with them. Despite everything, Ino didn't want to let her dad down and that was the final nail in the coffin. Since then, our relationship had improved after every interaction we had. She really had kept to her word and buckled down. A year after studying under the two powerful kunoichi, the whispers of Ino's talent started. I smiled remembering the first time I heard the rumor that Ino was set to pass Kurenai and steal her title within a few years. There was still just one little issue between us, but neither of us could do anything about it. Time to address the elephant.

"Are you nervous? About our match in a month?" I asked her, striking up conversation. Though her growth was phenomenal, the Elder's and Uncle wanted to be absolutely certain Ino was the right choice for Heir.

She bit her lip and nodded once. "I know I didn't always act like I wanted it or cared, but losing my title as Heiress would destroy me, cousin. I do love our clan, and our generation is set to take it to new heights. I have so many ideas."

I smiled encouragingly at Ino. "I know, Ino. You're going to do awesome. This is just a formality. They need to see your strength and make sure you can handle the pressure. I believe it you. Which is why I'm not going easy on you, I hope you understand."

That seemed to help her mood and she smirked confidently at me. "If you didn't go all out, my first act as head would be to banish you. I can't go all out and show them my strength if you're holding back."

I laughed loudly. "Banish me? Please. Our clan would soon collapse if I wasn't in it. Now, Gossip Queen, tell me what everyone has been up to. I've missed a lot, I have no idea what our classmates have been up to besides Choji and Fú"

Ino's eyes lit up in excitement. She did love her gossip. "Oh! Let's see, let's start with Lady Tsunade's apprentices. They've all passed her final test and were granted the title of field medic. They're splitting their time between teaching at the new medical school, shifts at the hospital, and getting field experience."

"Haku is doing the most field work. He wants to take his own apprentice some day and to have an official apprentice, you need to be a full Jonin. He's been leading missions whenever he can. He still hates fighting and hurting people, but I hear he's a powerhouse on the field. He told Hinata that he knows his eventual kin won't always follow his path, so he needs to develop his bloodline in case any of his kids inherit it."

"Shikamaru is still a lazy-ass, but not nearly as bad when we were kids. He's doing more missions with Choji and me, as well as leading some now and again. He's working for Special Jonin so he can "kick back and relax finally. His clan training is taking up more of his time as he's fallen behind with his medic training. Though he says the medic training helps keep his mother from nagging him as much, so he considers it a bonus."

She took a trip of tea and continued. "Hinata. She's the real gem. In the academy and when we first started, she was considered the failure of her clan and there were talks that her younger sister would inherit the title of heiress. Now? She's considered a prodigy and has brought "great honor" to the Hyuga clan. Two years ago, she brought an idea up with their elders and they shot it down at once. Lord Hiashi though saw the benefit that it would bring to the village and pushed hard to get their approval. Finally, they opened their eyes and saw the benefit."

"What idea was that?" I asked curiously. I hadn't heard any of this.

"She convinced them to allow her to take the basics of their Gentle Fist, and turn it into a martial arts style for medics. Using the graceful and flowing movements of the Gentle Fist in conjunction with the medic technique 'Chakra Scalpel' she created a style that is just as, if not more dangerous than the regular gentle fist. Tsunade finally relented and is allowing her to teach all field medics the style. She agreed that medics need to be just as deadly as their battle field counterparts. Enemies can slip through the lines and target the medics. No medics, we lose the war very quickly.

I smiled widely, proud of the Hyuga Heiress. She finally was coming into her own and showing the world he genius. Now, let's see if that confidence transfers over to her personal life. I'll have to get her alone with Naruto and see what happens.

"What are you chuckling evilly for, cousin?" Ino asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Plotting ways to get Hinata alone with Naruto." I said simply.

Ino joined me in a quick plotting session before we got back on track.

"Kiba. I honestly don't know much about. His father came back to the village and started training him. He then went on his own training trip with his father and just got back a few weeks ago. Apparently he could only complete his training deep in the wilds of the forest. I know he's been bugging Lord Fifth for more and more missions to get the experience he needs to qualify for the Jonin Exams. The only rumor I heard is that he inherited some really rare bloodline of the Inuzuka and that he had to learn to master it."

I nodded in thought. I had heard similar. Okami Inuzuka was the clan's only S-Rank shinobi in their history, as far as the general public knew. Whatever training Kiba had undergone, I don't think I'd be able to pull the same tactics on him again.

"Shino has been training like a man possessed. He told me he inherited a new, volatile breed of their bugs. He had to completely change is style from a long distance to fighter, to an up close and personal style. Apparently though, all it takes now is a touch from Bug Boy and his opponent dies a gruesome death. He's also been working on his earth techniques and a usual weapon style. He's just as secretive as ever. Though working, training and researching with that outgoing firecracker of yours as made him a lot more sociable. For an Aburame at least.

I smiled at that. Fú talked nonstop about her research and work with the Aburame clan. She gushed about their knowledge and how much it's increased her own powers over the insectoid family. She was much too old to inherit her own hive like an Aburame, but she was secretively working on a way around it. No matter how much I tortured her or spoiled her, she wasn't spilling those beans.

"Lee is finally able to use chakra, thanks to you. He said it took him nearly two years of meditation to get his chakra's balanced enough to channel it, but he's now able to and has taken his hand to hand abilities to new levels now that he can reinforce his muscles with chakra." Ino informed.

I smiled at that. For years Lee had been told he could never mold chakra due to deformed chakra network. A simple scan with medical techniques was all the boy received, and he had been forced to accept that as such. No specialist had ever seen to the boy, nor had anyone bothered to delve too deep into his 'condition.' That is, until I came around. I used my chakra sensing on the boy, diving deep into his chakra and network. The results were surprising, but not unexpected if I'm being honest.

Lee's issue didn't stem from a malformed chakra network. Lee's issues came from the fact that his chakra was so imbalanced, he couldn't properly mold chakra at all. Lee was 90% Yang chakra, with only miniscule amounts of Yin. Everyone and their mother knows chakra comes from the mixing of the two. I told Lee of my discovery and recommended different ways to increase his spiritual energies. He would never be able to perform elemental techniques, nor any other branches of the shinobi arts. However, as Ino said, he could reinforce his muscles with chakra now, as well as adding some variety with some seals. Before he couldn't even set of an explosive tag. Now, we added another pyromaniac to our ranks.

"Tenten, ironically enough, found out her element is wind. She's been working tirelessly on incorporating that into her weapons handling. From what I hear, she's become even more deadly. Neji also told me that she's developing a new technique. She's been working on it for three years now and still hasn't gotten it down. But it involves learning to do what Neji does and releasing chakra from all 361 chakra points. It's going to take her a few more years to get it down. The Hyuga are freaks like that being able to do that with only minimal training." Ino rattled off, looking around at the growing crowds

"Not that much different than our clan and being able to separate our yin and yang chakras completely." I retorted.

"Point," Ino conceded with a smile. "The Elders just need to come out and say it's a bloodline. Might make our clan more important."

"Bah. You know they don't care about stuff like that. As long as we help the village, that's all they care about. Besides, I'd never want us to be stuck in that endless loop of "Clan Honor and Pride" and "Traditions." It's how you get stagnant and no one pushes for new heights. It's like what happened with our clan. They just got shoehorned into support and just left it at that." I growled out, that thought still angering me to this day.

Ino nodded. "You're right. We'll be the ones to change it. Kono is helping me with that already. It seems the elders have been discussing how prodigal she and I are at Illusions and they're thinking that we need to focus efforts on our lost art of illusions."

I met Ino's gaze. "So you know about our lost history then?"

She nodded. "When I made Chunin, Daddy took me to the vaults. It's… So sad thinking of what we lost."

"During the preliminaries, Lady Korinna discussed that with me. I will show you the memories sometime. It's worse than you think." I told her seriously.

Ino smiled brightly at that. "Thank you, cousin. Now speaking of Neji, well he's the only other from our posse that hold the rank of Special Jonin. He's working on clan techniques, refusing to meet the elemental criteria. He'll be one to do it though, he's already mastered every technique that family has and has started to develop his own. From what I hear, the results are devastating."

"I'm glad our generation is working hard. We've got tough times ahead of us." I said, leaning back in my chair and staring up at the sky. A few fluffy white clouds drifted lazily above.

"So, what about you and Ami? What all have you been working on while in the 'you know what' organization?" Ino asked curiously.

Again. Worst kept secret. "I mainly perfected what I've been working on for years. You know I mastered all our clan techniques and developed a few more. My poisons are deadlier than ever. I've crossbred three dozen new toxic plants to help with that. My lightning and water techniques, as well as my storm release. I also finally, finally managed to perfect Shisui Uchiha's ability with 'Body-Flicker.'"

"What about Ami? I bet she's just a tough an opponent as when we first fought. I want a rematch, this time I'll last longer than three seconds." Ino grumbled.

I laughed, but was proud of my cousin. She no longer had that mentality that civilian born shinobi weren't as deadly and dangerous as their clan counterparts.

"She continued her training with Anko, the two still spar once a week. She was able to sign the snake contract which opened up entire new paths for her to follow. Her poisons are just as deadly as mine in their own ways. Apparently the Snake Clan is divided in two. Those who follow and support Manda, and those who follow and support The White Snake Sage. Apparently a lot of Snakes are refusing to answer and obey Orochimaru, due to how poorly he treats them. It was this divide that let Ami sign the contract. She also told me that Anko was given primary ownership of the scroll, and that Orochimaru is close to losing his rights as a summoner altogether. She's also really dangerous with her fire release techniques, and with the help of the snakes has made tremendous progress with her earth release. I'm proud of her. She's come a long way."

Ino nodded and smiled. "Finally, how's your cute little girlfriend?" Ino cooed.

I snorted. Fú still was tiny, especially now that I had had my growth spurt. She barely came up to the bottom of my chest. Her tiny size though hid her strength. In terms of sheer combat ability, Fú was probably the strongest shinobi in the village.

"Once she broke her mental barrier with medical techniques, she began to eat through the curriculum at unheard of rates. She finished her apprentice with Shizune with a year and a half. The control she learned made every single technique she has that much more potent. Her strings that used her regular chakra to heal can now bind life threatening wounds while being fed medical chakra. She can heal an ally across the battlefield which makes her invaluable already. She has numerous insects she can control to aid her in healing or battle. She has some bugs that can eat and digest most known toxins, so common poisons aren't an issue for her. Her mastery over water is better than mine now along with reserves to make her rival the Second someday."

I smiled fondly, so proud of my girlfriend. "Her medical techniques along with her elemental techniques make her a force on the battlefield. She also has her natural enhanced strength from being the container of the 7-tails. She's the only medic in the village than Lady Tsunade gave her complete approval to ignore her rules of medics despite not having mastered the strength of 100 seal. Speaking of that though, Fú was given approval from Lady Katsuya herself to sign the Slug contract. It fits though, seeing what Fú's connection to any and all insects. Even though technically slugs aren't an insect, Lady Katsuya said her clan is linked heavily with Chomei."

"Finally, Fú and Chomei's relationship has gone to new heights. Fú can enter what she calls her tailed beast cloak version two and remain completely in control. Within another year or two, she should be able to transform completely and remain in control. It helps though that she has a bijuu that will cut off its own chakra when Fú starts to lose control. Chomei really is a gem. If only Kyubi were half as cooperative." I finished with a grumble.

Ino laughed. "It's funny, that we can talk about a tailed beast so casually. Normally, when you speak of them it's in fear. I'm glad Fú and Chomei get along though. It probably makes her life a lot easier."

I nodded and was about to respond when I noticed that the normal droning of the crowd had changed in its mood. Before it was the typical every day atmosphere, but now there was an excited buzzing amongst the villagers. I began to pick out bits and pieces.

"Lord Jiraiya is back!"

"Kakashi Hatake didn't have his book in hand as usual!"

"Those two red-headed girls looked awfully young, I hope Lord Jiraiya isn't too far gone in those dirty books of his."

My eyes snapped to Ino's, her teal eyes meeting mine with just as much excitement.

"They're back!" We cried out simultaneously.

***********************************IY************************************************

I slammed my palm to the ground and a small owl poofed into existence. The Owl Clan had finally agreed to let me sign the full summoning contract after a glowing review from Tetsu. Speaking of the little guy, he was no longer quite so little. He was now the size of large dog and growing by the day, he wasn't suited for delivering messages like he once used to love to do. Instead, I now had to summon a messenger Owl the same as my father has to. Well damn, that was a horrible trade off. Not.

"Ketsu. How are you, buddy?" I asked the small owl who was blinking rapidly in the bright afternoon sun.

"I was fine until you so rudely summoned me. I supposed I need to run some menial task for you, oh great Master." His annoyed reply came.

I frowned at the small Owl. "I apologize for disturbing you. I did have a quick message I need delivered. If you are too busy, I can get another."

He waved me off with a small wing. "If it's a quick message I'll do it. I apologize for my rudeness, Master. I was having a lovely dream. Hopefully I can finish my mission quickly and return back to my dreams."

I nodded at the little guy. "My teammate, Ami. The purple haired one. Just find her and tell her Naruto is back and to meet me at the Hokage tower. Once you do that, get back to napping."

He sighed in relief. "Oh that is easy. I'll have it done in minutes. I'm off." And he took to the sky quickly.

I turned to Ino. "Let's go!" And we rushed towards the Hokage tower as quickly as we could.

*************************************TU**********************************************

My gamble paid off and I caught the sight of silver and yellow ahead of us. I smiled widely and felt my spirits lifting. It had been way too long since I'd seen my best friend and brother.

"NARUTOOOOOOO!" I called out while still sprinting.

He turned and his smile matched my own. He full faced me and turned to sprint my direction. We crashed into one another, laughing and hugging without a care in the world. After a few minutes we finally broke apart, wide grins still in place. Naruto's grin slipped into a frown though after he gave me a once over.

"Dammit! I grew so much and you're still way taller than me! Not fair, ya know!?" He pouted.

I laughed loudly. I was true. The boy had grown well over the course of three and a half years, but I still towered over him. I quickly realized, that I was nearly as tall as Lord Jiraiya. I glanced down at the geta on his feet, deducing that I was just as tall as the man if we were both barefoot. I did a victory dance. Hell yes, Lord Jiraiya is one of the tallest shinobi we have in our ranks, which puts me in the top as well!

"I told you eating all that Ramen would stunt your growth. Once again, I'm going to have to hear about how you should have listened to me." I replied easily. The long years apart seeming like a distant memory already. Time doesn't make a difference when it comes to your best friends. You pick up right where you left off.

"Yeah, yeah. Hopefully you did more than grow in height since I left, otherwise I'm going to stomp you into the ground." Naruto boasted loudly. He then noticed Ino. "Ino?! Is that you?! Wow, you look great!"

Ino blushed at the praise but quickly recovered. "You don't look to bad yourself, Naruto. If I wasn't good friends with a certain girl, I'd seduce you myself." She replied in a sultry voice, strutting and swaying her hips as she approached Naruto.

Naruto turned bright red and began to sputter. Ino laughed which caused him to come back to his sense. "Wait, what girl? Who?"

"Oh I can't tell you that, silly. She has to tell you herself. She may just kill me if I were to spill the beans on that bit of gossip." Ino said.

Naruto opened his mouth but was quickly bowled over and off his feet. Ami had appeared out of nowhere and had tackled her long lost teammate. She was laughing and crying in equal proportions. Naruto had no idea what to do and shot me a 'help me' look. I just shrugged and left him to his fate.

Ami finally pulled herself off of Naruto and stood up, still laughing and wiping away her tears of joy. "Sorry, Naruto. You left me with this idiot for 3.5 years so I was just so happy to have my favorite teammate back."

I scowled at Ami who shot me a victorious wink as Naruto was now hugging her and promising never to leave her again with her mean old teammate.

Our reunion was cut off by Lord Jiraiya's interruption.

"Sorry, kids. You'll have plenty of time to catchup in a bit. We have to go debrief with Lord Fifth." Jiraiya stated with a smile. "We'll try to make it quick. I have a slug queen to once again attempt to seduce and sake to drink."

We all nodded at Lord Jiraiya. "Come to the house when you're done. The family will be over the moon to see you. Then we can go see your cousins." It was then I noticed the two red headed females that had been hanging in the back looking around nervous yet excitedly. "More family, Naruto?" I asked, nudging my head in the girls' direction.

Naruto smiled happily. "Yup! I'll bring them by to meet your family and introduce you then!"

I embraced Naruto in a hug once more. "Glad you're back, Naruto. It hasn't been the same."

Naruto's watery smile was all the answer I needed. The group set off to meet with Lord Fifth.

"All is right in the Leaf. Let's go to my house and let Mom know. She'll want to prepare a feast for him." I said happily.

Ami and Ino agreed and the three of us made our way to my house.

******************************Naru-Beebee is Back!**************************************

I was right. When I told Mom Naruto was back in town and would be home in a little while, she immediately went into the kitchen to prepare all of Naruto's favorite dishes. Kono was also over the moon. She was gabbing away a mile a minute with Ino and Ami, telling them all about her training and how she was so excited to show Big Bro Naruto how strong she's gotten.

Three hours later, a knock sounded on the door. Before I could even twitch, Kono was out of her seat.

"I GOT IT!" She screamed to everyone in the house causing us all to laugh at her antics. There was a muffled 'Oof' before Kono's voice broke the silenece again. "NARUTO YOU'RE HOME! I have so much to tell you. I was Rookie of the Year. Oh and I'm graduating early! Oh! So much Naruto. Do you want to spar? I'll show you what I can do! Oh who are these two? Hello, I'm Kono!"

"Breath, little sis. You'll end your shinobi career before you even start if you die from lack of oxygen." I chuckled, pulling her off the two startled looking young women. "Welcome to our home. I'm Kenta Yamanaka."

The taller girl with glasses found her nerves first. "My name is Karin Uzumaki. Thank you for letting us into your home." She replied politely. I nodded at her and glanced at the younger girl.

"My… My name is Stadie Uzumaki. Thank you for having us." She replied in a quiet voice. Thank god these two were more in line with Honoka and not as rambunctious as Naruto and the twins.

"The pleasure is mine Miss Karin, Miss Stadie. Please, follow me and I'll introduce you to everyone." I said with a smile, relaxing the girls a bit more.

I brought the Uzumaki cousins into the kitchen and dining area and introduced them to everyone. Upon seeing Naruto, Mom squealed and began fussing over the boy. Checking every inch of him and showering him with hugs and praise.

A red face Naruto stammered out his thanks and then noticed what Mom was cooking. His embarrassment was quickly replaced by a growling stomach and a watering mouth. The door opened and Dad walked in. He saw Naruto and gave him a much more subdued greeting but no less full of love.

We spent the next four hours eating and catching up. It was 2000 before we noticed the time.

"Well, time for us to get home. I've got to get these two settled, and my shadow clone was pummeled into last week by an irate Granny who scolded me and said I should have been her first visit." Naruto chuckled.

"Let's all meet at 0800 at ground 23 and do some light sparring?" I asked my two teammates. They both agreed quickly and I walked Naruto and his two cousins out.

"Miss Karin, Miss Stadie, it was a pleaure to meet you both. This is Naruto's second home, please know it's just as much yours. Come by anytime." I informed the two girls. They gave hesitant confirmations before heading out into the darkening village.

Ami wasn't far behind them, telling us she had something to work on before bed. I bid goodnight to her and Ino who had taken that as her cue to follow and closed the door. I turned around to see my parents and Kono all standing there smiling.

"It sure is good to have him back in the village. It hasn't been the same without him." Mom said fondly.

Kono and Dad both agreed. I walked forward and pulled my small little family into a hug.

"His clan is quickly growing, but he'll always be a part of this family." Dad said, voice thick with emotion.

We all agreed happily before going about the rest of our nights. I made my way to my room and pulled open grandmother's scroll. I began to study her ultimate technique with a smile.

************************************KY***********************************************

I bid goodbye to my family the next morning and made my way to the door. I opened it and rushed out, right into the solid body of a familiar figure.

Bull saluted sharply. "Apologies Captain. Lord Fifth has a mission for you. Please grab your gear and a 1 month pack and meet at his office immediately."

I returned his salute. "Thank you, Bull. But I'm not your captain anymore, you don't have to call me that."

He shook his head. "You'll always be my Captain." And with that he vanished.

I raced into my house and into my room. I put my gear on and grabbed my pack. I checked myself once over in the mirror. Befitting my new title, I now rocked the standard jonin outfit that our village was known for. The only difference was that mine was all black rather than the dark blue and greens of our village. What can I say? I loved black.

I ran into the kitchen, noticing that everyone was gone for the day already. I scribbled a quick not and then ran out the door. The second the locked clicked into place, I was gone in a 'body-flicker.'

**************************Misssionnnnn TIMMMMMEEEE*********************************

Judging by the crowd that was gathered, I knew what our mission was. Team Kakashi was decked out before Lord Fifth. To my left stood Ami, Fú, and Neji Hyuga. To my right, Kakashi, Genma, Naruto and Choji Akamichi. Akatsuki was finally making their move. It was time to hunt.

"Thirty minutes ago we receive an urgent message from Suna. Akatsuki infiltrated their village and kidnapped Lord Gaara. Lord Kankuro was badly injured and poisoned attempting to retrieve his brother. The suspected culprits are Deidara the Mad Bomber of Iwa, and Sasori of the Red Sands. That is all the information we have at the moment. Team Kakashi, you mission is to travel to Suna and gather any additional information that you can. Deceifer where Akatsuki took Gaara, and try and retrieve him at all costs. You will also attempt to assassinate the two members, weakening their group overall. Questions?" Lord Fifth briefed us.

No one spoke up.

"Then leave immediately. Kakashi, you have lead. Genma, you are his second. Move, people! Every second counts!"

Kakashi took a step back and gave us all a quick once over. "Everyone already has their gear and packs?"

We all nodded. "Then we leave now. Let's go!"

We vanished from Lord Fifth's office in a gust of wind. It was a race against the clock. If we lost, Gaara would die.

If we lost, the opening move would belong to Akatsuki.

Ennnnddd! Welllllllll? How was the homecoming? Good, Bad, Meh?

I was gunna do the typical "Test Naruto blah blah blah" but then decided… let's just see him in action next chapter against Deidara and Sasori!

Once again, we're not doing all the filler and side-quests in this story. Kenta aint got time for filler episodes. Main story is much longer in Shipuuden so we will have plenty to cover for the time being.

Questions, comments, concerns, theories, ideas, guesses… You know how to ask em!

Chapter two is already in the works as you finish reading this. Hoping for a Wednesday release. Celebration for starting book 2!

Love you all and thank you for your continued support.