A Warrior's Desire

It had been a while since Itachi used the Hachibi excuse to flee from the Akatsuki without having to worry about a possible confrontation. His plan was simple, yet complicated at the same time. Tricking the Akatsuki, let alone someone like Zetsu was nearly impossible. However, the Uchiha knew some aspects of Fuinjutsu linked with the henge technique added with a wide-scale Genjutsu to make it seem that a demon attacked him; so as to make it look like it was Itachi lying on the ground all bloodied, but the truth was that Itachi chose a missing-nin from Kumo for the experiment. It was successful, though, as the body laid on the ground covered in blood was an exact replica of the elder Uchiha.

Being an Anbu before the Uchiha massacre, he got to learn a lot of useful things that aided him in his career, however now he was counting with the useless things that he was taught like how to prepare false scenery using some seals and a henge. After taking care of everything, Itachi walked away from the fake body. Itachi never got to take his Anbu attire off before joining the Akatsuki, so without the black robe, he returned to being a ninja from Konoha, except that with a crossed headband. The man knew he had to change his outfit from fear of being easily recognized by people. The problem of being the one responsible for the Uchiha Massacre was that the minute he escaped the village, the word spread all around the elemental nations. Itachi was never much fan of diverting attention to himself, even before committing the terrible sin of killing everyone of the Uchiha clan, except for his stupid brother. Of course, just like any Uchiha, Itachi was the number one rookie of his academy class and had a mob of fan girls chasing him.

Soon, he arrived at a small village and looked around a bit. His senses for other ninjas were normal, so he was safe. Wandering around for a while, Itachi managed to find a clothes store where he could ditch the Anbu attire in hopes of getting something inconspicuous. Once inside, he saw that the store was divided in normal civilian clothes and shinobi clothes. Itachi thought it was a good idea to mix the two. Of course, he wanted to hide his appearance, but he also wanted some light material for movement in case Akatsuki learned of his treachery. The shop owner was an old man and he was snoring like crazy, so Itachi just walked through the store looking for something he could wear.

He needed first something to hide his face, so he would have to purchase a mask. Also, he needed to find a robe just like the Akatsuki wear, but in a different color. He was wandering around the store, until he found one light blue with black stripes all over. Also, Itachi managed to find some light cargo paints and a gray shirt with a high collar that would cover up to Itachi's nose just like the usual Uchiha blue shirt that both he and Sasuke wore. Gathering everything he needed, Itachi went to the counter and landed his soon to be purchased clothes right in front of the old man with enough noise to wake him. Itachi confessed that he was a bit taken aback when the old man opened his eyes and shouted at him like he was crazy.

"What do you want, you fool? Can't you see that I'm taking a nap?" – Shouted the old geezer. Itachi couldn't help but see the irony in this situation. He an S ranked missing-nin, killer of the fabled Uchiha clan, being shouted at by an old geezer who probably wouldn't give a shit if Itachi was a ninja or not.

"I want to purchase these items from your store, after this I won't bother you and you can go back to your nap" – Said Itachi, not at all focused on teaching the man not to shout at him. It wasn't that the old Uchiha didn't want to, it was rather the fact that one single mistake could lead the Akatsuki right behind him and Itachi knew he couldn't take on all of them together, maybe Zetsu, but both Tobi and Pain were the strongest members of the organization and as such, they shouldn't be taken lightly.

The old man snorted something about young punks these days lacking respect for the elderly, but Itachi ignored it…All in favor of getting the hell out of this store and be able to rid himself of the Anbu clothing and the crossed headband so as to cut all ties with just about any type of organization that exists. Luckily for Itachi, the man was quick and in minutes, Itachi was walking out of the shop with some shopping bags. He needed to go somewhere where he could change and burn his old attire and he saw the perfect place, thus speeding things up a bit. In minutes, Itachi was now wearing his new outfit and burned his Anbu attire. Now, it was time for the next part of the plan and that was finding someone who could heal his eyes for him. The Mangenkyou Sharingan was a remarkable weapon, but with time, the user would lose his ability to see properly, eventually losing his eyesight.

One thing was certain, though, that until Itachi managed to find someone to fix his eyes, the Sharingan would not be used.

As Itachi began to walk towards no certain destination, he noticed a dango restaurant straight ahead, but instead of thinking of the food, Itachi's sight immediately recognized the one seating there having some lunch.

===With Jiraiya===

Jiraiya was travelling around the elemental nations in search for more clues regarding the technique responsible for the bjiuus extraction. The pervert didn't find much information and he didn't like it one bit. Being an information gatherer and one of the best, if something truly annoyed Jiraiya, it was not being able to dig further. Some of his contacts expressed their intelligence saying that they were aware of a technique like the one Jiraiya was looking, but the truth is that none of them managed to give Jiraiya any more material to work with.

Right now, Jiraiya was eating some dango while deep in thought about his investigation. However, he soon stopped cold in his tracks upon looking up only to see one of Konoha's worst enemies staring right at him with that cold look in his eyes. But the weird thing was that he wasn't dressed like last time and also the scratched forehead protector was now gone from his forehead.

"It's been a while Jiraiya" – Said Itachi, of course receiving only snarl in response from the Sannin. Jiraiya was cursing his luck or rather lack of it by meeting one of the Akatsuki right in front of him and even worst, the sole possessor of the eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Jiraiya's shinobi mind was confused, though, after seeing the change in wardrobe and also the fact that Itachi was alone rather than with a partner, something wasn't right and Jiraiya wanted to know about it.

"I'm curious Itachi-kun about the change in wardrobe, surely isn't a conscious crisis we're talking about here?" – Asked Jiraiya, while fixing eye contact with Itachi, even though it was highly ill advised to face an Uchiha eye to eye. However, since the Sharingan wasn't active, then Jiraiya had nothing to worry about being casted a Genjutsu out of a sudden. Itachi for his part saw the sarcasm in the sannin's words and snorted.

"A shinobi cannot afford to grief over the past, we have a reduced lifespan as it is and it's ill advised to mourn the past actions. It wasn't in my plan for you to see me like this, but I'm here to ask you something If I may" – Asked Itachi, before seeing Jiraiya nodding his head as in asking what Itachi wanted. "Ever since we lost Kisame to Konoha Anbu, I've thinking about the one wearing black wolf mask and truth be told, he quirked my interest" – Explained Itachi. Jiraiya, though, managed to control his subtle body movements that would come with realization upon hearing Itachi's words, but inside, the man was cursing the genius Uchiha from being too damn smart. But the fact remained that should Itachi still work with Akatsuki, the only ninja from Konoha who would interest him would be Naruto, not the Anbu Black Wolf, even If they are the same person. Jiraiya didn't open his mouth until Itachi proceeded.

"I didn't see the fight that Kisame had since I was busy handling myself against both Kakashi and the Godaime Hokage, but still beating Hoshikage Kisame, one of the strongest members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist require both skills and strength that are peculiar to at least one of Akatsuki's level or even your level. It's my interest to meet this guy and hope to fight him in a duel" – Said Itachi, before seeing Jiraiya quirk his eyebrow in response to Itachi's strange request. A mere desire to fight someone was a warrior's wish and certainly no one could say that Itachi was one.

"I'm more confused now than when I first saw you with this different outfit. I never expected you to be the warrior type" – Said Jiraiya, earning a nod from Itachi.

"The reason for my actions so far was merely to test how far I've gotten with my skills. Joining Akatsuki and facing Jinchuurikis was a way for me to measure my capabilities against much powerful foes, but unfortunately the ones I engaged were either too inexperienced in the shinobi arts or too old to even move accordingly. Now, the black masked Anbu managed to defeat Kisame and he was an S ranked ninja" – Explained Itachi, before ordering some dango to the waiter and seating in the same table as Jiraiya while facing him.

The pervert for his part wondered about a possible alibi on Itachi's side and chose to answer his doubt concerning this whole situation.

"Let me ask you something….considering the level of ninjas that represents Akatsuki, I would imagine that something as treason would be highly frawned upon. Clearly, you can't say that they just let you walk away free of any commitment towards their cause, whatever there is" – Asked Jiraiya, before Itachi nodded.

"You are indeed correct; a member who commits acts of treason will receive a death sentence. However, I don't trust you enough to just tell what happened, just the fact that you will be the only one who knows I'm alive as I expect you to keep secret to anyone is enough" - Said Itachi, before Jiraiya snorted, since Itachi didn't actually give him any reasons not to tell that he escaped and maybe ruin his plans, whatever that might be.

"I'm sorry Itachi, but what would keep me from spreading the word about you leaving Akatsuki. Surely, you'd have to grant me something that I can use for the favor of keeping this information. Unless, you plan to kill me right now, because if that's the case, then you could just forfeit. You're strong kid, but not enough to kill a Sannin and be able to hide your tracks" – Spoke Jiraiya, before seeing Itachi negating the question with his head. He just waited for his dango order to be placed in front of him and for the waiter to leave, before responding.

"I don't plan to kill you, but rather use you if I may. I still plan to engage against the Black masked Anbu, whether you want to or not. But, if you do help me with this, I'll grant you information regarding the organization; however this deal proposal will only come to fruition if you hold your end of the bargain" – Explained Itachi, earning another snort from the elder ninja. Itachi was indeed too damn smart and cunning as well. He knew that Jiraiya was gathering any sort of information about Akatsuki and was spreading information to the other hidden villages. The problem with accepting this deal was that he would have to agree in setting Naruto to fight against Itachi and as such, he could very well capture Naruto and hand him for the Akatsuki. However, if the information that Itachi provides allows Jiraiya to work on a counter jutsu that would nullify the extraction technique.

It was a risk, Jiraiya knew and a big one if Itachi managed to turn the tables on him. Nevertheless, Jiraiya didn't survive thus far by being an amateur.

"Before this deal closes, Itachi, I have one condition….before I agree to settle you on a fight against the Anbu; you must prove that you won't betray me in the end by supplying me with false information. Once I'm satisfied with the information you provides, I'll give you my word that your request will reach the Godaime Hokage, cause after all because of her position, she needs to know about it" – Asked Jiraiya, earning a nod from Itachi who actually accepted the condition.

"I accept the condition, Jiraiya. So, what do you want to know about the Akatsuki? However, your condition should apply to you as well, if I sense that you're not doing your part, I'll call the whole thing off and cease everything" – Said Itachi, earning a nod from Jiraiya, before they both shook hands to settle the deal. However, by the look in their faces, it was clear that none trusted each other, but that would change in time, at least Jiraiya hoped so. Sometimes, the enemy becomes the ally and while said concept wasn't strange to the Sannin, he certainly had reservations about siding with someone as Itachi.

===With Naruto===

Unaware of Jiraiya's deal, Naruto and his peers were currently tailing the demon fox Onmitsu who in turn was tailing the enemy chakra's essence. The fox managed to give the numbers of enemies and much information their chakra could provide to the fox. Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino already knew about their affinities and chakra levels, as well as their numbers. Apparently, there were five of them, with three Jounin level shinobi and two Chuunin level. All of them were earth based, but the last piece of information acted as more confirmation than anything else.

The information would exist in case one of the group possessed an affinity that wasn't peculiar to Earth Country. Also, their chakra levels were considerably high so in the end, the Anbu group would need a vital strategy to be able to reclaim the contract without them destroying it and then engage in battle with the missing-nins, with the odds against them.

"Onmitsu, once we reach their hideout, we'll stop and oversee a plan I've gathered. We'll need both Tsukai (messenger) and Yuurei (spy) for this one" – Said Naruto, earning a nod from the fox in front of him, until Shikamaru and Shino regrouped.

"What do you plan to do?" – Asked Shikamaru, while looking forward to the fox.

"Once we reach the facility, Onmitsu will locate the contract and point it to us. Just like Onmitsu, I have four more foxes at my disposal. Yuurei will be the one entering the place and take the contract and give it to Tsukai who will deliver the contract to our client, thus leaving the fight for us. If all goes well, we'll regroup in order to plan our battle strategy. Don't worry, though, these foxes will get the job done" – Explained Naruto, earning a nod from Shino and Shikamaru, before they created some distance between each other, so as to cover more ground. As the group moved, Shino's bugs would provide cover for them in case of a set-up, so he was the last one and with Onmitsu in front with his heightened nose and chakra sensors, he could spot any chakra related trap more than a mile away.

It took five minutes to reach the place and the team plus the fox was now hidden behind the dark vegetation that seemed to surround the camp. The camp's location was badly picked, the Anbus could tell. Sure, they are well hidden because of the vegetation around the place, but should someone find them, the Iwa's exile wouldn't be able to know where the attack comes from or even prepare in advance. The detective fox, in seconds, closed his eyes and used his abilities to feel all five presences. The facility involved a group of four tents merged together to form a little base of operations and Onmitsu managed to find the most likely place for the contract to be, since it was being guarded by two Jounin level shinobi.

After reporting to Naruto, he made the hand seals once more for the Kuchiyose and this time both Yuurei and Tsukai appeared, before greeting their summoner.

"Greetings, Onmitsu already explained it to me, I'm back in a second" – Said Yuurei, before focusing chakra to his fur and changing to a color more suited for one hundred percent invisibility and disappeared from view, surprising both Shikamaru and Shino. Naruto, both, addressed Tsukai regarding his part of the mission.

"Tsukai, after Yuurei returns with the contract, you'll deliver it to our client, I believe Onmitsu already informed you of his appearance and name" – Asked Naruto, earning a nod from the messenger fox, before turning to see nothing. However, what once was nothing but air now became Yuurei as he switched to a color that the human eye could see, before handling the contract to Naruto to study. After being satisfied, Naruto gave the contract to Tsukai who focused chakra to his feet and vanished towards the client's manor.

After thanking the foxes and dismissing them, Naruto turned to his Anbu peers in order to organize a plan of attack. The enemy was focused on earth Ninjutsu, so apart from Tai and Genjutsu skills, their Ninjutsu revolved exclusively on Doton. That left Shikamaru out of the front line, thus being on the defensive with his shadow jutsus. Shino and Naruto had the upper hand because of their Raiton affinity. The plan was simple, which consisted of testing their abilities with physical fighting first. Shikamaru and Shino understood the plan and nodded, before the group vanished from the hiding place and in seconds, appeared right in front of the tent, immediately getting the enemy's attention.

One of the Jounin, upon seeing the Anbu from Konoha smirked before turning to scream.

"Oi Maruishi, tear the contract to shreds, we warned that imbecile that should he contact anyone, the contract will be destroyed and now he'll suffer the consequences" – Said the man named Ganseki, before hearing Maruishi screaming an okay from the back. Ganseki was still smirking, even though a little suspicious since the ones from Konoha were just standing there, not doing anything to stop them from destroying the contract. It only took two seconds until the man's partner Maruishi appeared screaming that the contract disappeared, before Naruto began speaking.

"Here is the deal, missing-nins, you surrender yourselves to us and will be handled to Iwa for a much lesser penalty, it's your choice" – Said Naruto, earning a snort from the leader Ganseki.

"What a jackass, you damn well know that going back to Iwa means prison for life, I prefer the other way." – Smirked Ganseki, before giving the signal for the others to show up. Naruto, though, stopped crossing his arms and reached for his ninjato.

"When I said a lesser penalty, that meant that you'd at least be able to walk out of here alive, but since you chose not to, I guess you just gave us authorization to kill you folks and just send your heads to the Tsushikage on a silver platter, Anbu team, the plan is set, let's go...Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" – Said Naruto, before two clones appeared next to him, evening the odds. The next thing, Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino attacked the Iwa's Exile with straight out Kenjutsu, in ways of testing their skills. Before one of them started to make hand seals for a jutsu, Naruto was already ahead of the man with his unique Genjutsu style.

The man immediately saw Naruto coming out from the left and he turned to aim the jutsu, however he failed to foresee that he left an opening for the real Naruto to deliver the killing blow to the man's chest. The fight barely started and one of the Chuunin was already killed. The clones were dispatched easily by the two Jounin, but at least Naruto managed to learn that they are Taijutsu experts. Shino and Shikamaru fought in straight Taijutsu against the other Chuunin, but instead of going for the immediate killing like Naruto did, they preferred to play safe. Besides, it seemed that they excelled more in Taijutsu than in other areas.

The team from Konoha did some back flips and landed on a safe distance away from the enemy, before Naruto ushered a new plan.

"Antelope and Beetle, you guys take on the Chuunin, leave the Jounin to me" – Said Naruto to which Shikamaru at first protested, but seeing that Naruto was the leader, his hands were tied in the manner.

Immediately, Shino and Shikamaru vanished and so the two Chuunin as well, thus leaving Naruto to fetch himself against the two Jounin, who were actually Maruishi and Ganseki.

"You'll pay for killing our friend Anbu, you may be fast and extremely proficient in Genjutsu, but while you managed to fool a Chuunin, you can't fool us Jounin" – Said Ganseki, but Naruto only remained in the same fighting pose. In blinding speed, Naruto charged the enemy, once more with the Genjutsu, but this time Maruishi managed to dispel it immediately after being casted, so Genjutsu was out of the picture. Ganseki smiled at his partner before making hand seals for Doton Doryuu Dango (Earth Release: Mausoleum Earth Dumpling Jutsu).

Seeing the incoming ball of mud, Naruto focused chakra to his feet and dashed to the left while making hand seals for a extremely useful technique and one that the Jounin wasn't expecting called Fuuton Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu). After sending the immense gust of wind, both Ganseki and Maruishi were sent out flying, but Naruto wouldn't let this change go by and he threw some shurikens at the enemy, who were focusing on escaping from the wind and didn't saw the incoming projectiles. Most of them caused damage, followed by a snarling coming from Ganseki, who cursed the Anbu ninja from the dirty blow.

Thanking the heavens that the shurikens didn't hit their arms or legs, the two Jounin yanked them out from their chest and then attacked Naruto together in full out Taijutsu. Immediately, upon seeing the attack, Naruto got ready for the assault by focusing chakra to his feet, before dashing straight forward in order to halt the enemy's assault. Naruto's speed surprised the Jounin as they switched to defensive mode in order to defend from Naruto's incoming kicks. After Ganseki managed to defend Naruto's reverse kick from the left, Maruishi tried to aim a strong punch to Naruto's jaw, to which Naruto dodged just in time and jumped for a roundhouse kick aimed for Maruishi's chest, but the kick was stopped by Ganseki who positioned his arm towards defending his partner's open chest.

Maruishi took the lead and moved for a frontal kick towards disabling Naruto's defense, but Naruto managed to grab the man's leg, before landing a low kick to Maruishi's right knee, earning a loud scream from the poor man who couldn't help but fall on the ground and hold his leg in a desperate attempt to stop the pain. Maruishi was done for and wouldn't get back up on the fight; however when Naruto was moving in for the killing blow, Ganseki came for the rescue and landed a straight punch at Naruto's chest, before sending the blond on the ground. Not one to lose track, Naruto used the momentum and placed his hands on the ground, before flipping his body to stand still. The missing-nins from Iwa didn't even see the series of hand seals Naruto was doing, but instead all they could see was what appeared to be a lightning lion opening his mouth, before thousands and thousands of bolts shocked their entire system.

===With Shikamaru and Shino===

After separating from Naruto, Shino and Shikamaru decided to join forces in taking care of the two Chuunin in front of them. In fact, their abilities wasn't what one could say above average. Even though they didn't outright kill one of them like Naruto did, Shino and Shikamaru were merely testing the enemy's skills and to be quite frank, they didn't measure to an Anbu's level of skill. Nevertheless, the first lesson that a ninja must learn once in Anbu is never to underestimate the enemy, be always on guard no matter the circumstances.

"Do you think he's alright? He is fighting against two Jounin level shinobi?" – Asked Shino, while staring at the enemy before hearing Shikamaru snort in disbelief at his teammate worrying about Naruto's welfare.

"Don't worry about him, there isn't a soul in Anbu that don't questions Black Wolf's skills and even spread rumors about him. Plus, he trained with the best, I'm sure he will deal with the Jounin in no time. Now, I believe we should worry about these guys and then go assist our leader" – Explained Shikamaru, earning a nod from Shino, before both vanished and appeared in mid air, throwing shurikens at the opponents. Immediately grabbing kunai, the ones from Iwa managed to defend themselves from the incoming projectiles.

Seeing that the Anbu were still in mid air, the team from Iwa began making hand seals for Doton Domu (Earth Release: Earth Spear Jutsu). Instantly, four spears materialized from the ground and landed in their hands, before they threw at Shino and Shikamaru. Acknowledging the attack, Shikamaru approached Shino and the bug user let out his bugs for the Aburame defensive jutsu. The spears hit the bug wall, before vaporizing in thin air. Actually, since Shino's bugs feed themselves on chakra, the spears served as a delicious meal to them.

Seeing that the enemy was focusing their attention on Shino's bugs, Shikamaru used his Kage Mane no Jutsu (Shadow Binding Technique) and instantly his shadow began to spread along the open field and managed to get a hold on both of the enemy's shadow, without their knowledge, since Shino's bugs were at first representing the bigger treat. However, when they tried to move their bodies, surprise stuck them as they saw the shadow beam leaving Shikamaru and reaching their shadows.

"You two were focusing so much on my comrade's attack that you forgot about me. Now, you can't move and thus you're open for an attack" – Explained Shikamaru, earning a snarl from the Chuunin.

"Release us this moment, you coward. You Konoha ninjas are all the same with your special bloodlines and stupid tricks" – Mumbled one of the Chuunin, but this time was Shino who spoke.

"A ninja must be prepared for what lies underneath the underneath. It's not because of our bloodlines, that we were able to win this fight, but rather skill and experience to use them effectively. Now, since I believe you know about the Kikaichu bugs and their hunger for chakra, you two will be on their menu. However, both of you could still give up and we will spare your life, it's your choice" – Asked Shino, before hearing the once silent one, screaming obscenities for both Shino and Shikamaru, but he never could since the bugs attacked the Chuunin and sucked them dry of chakra in minutes.

After they left and returned to Shino's body, the chuunin's life force was all but sucked by the bugs and without energy, they would be dead. So, only gravity was necessary to send their bodies to the ground.

"Man, such troublesome waste of chakra. We could, at least, discussed the plan with Naruto beforehand. Beetle, let's head to leader, but first we need to seal these corpses to be latter delivered to the Tsushikage" – Said Shikamaru to which Shino nodded, before both of them grabbed a body sealing scroll for each corpse. Afterwards, they vanished only to appear at the end of Naruto's fight when they saw a huge lightning lion opening his mouth and engulfing both Jounins, before hearing their screams echoing through the open field.

Needless to say, both of them were dead the minute thousands and thousands of bolts raced through their system. Seeing his team returned unscathed, Naruto smiled and turned to address his peers.

"Good job team, let's head back to the client and see what he has to say about this whole mess" – Said Naruto to which Shino and Shikamaru nodded, as they handled their scrolls to Naruto who in turn looked at them. "Maybe next time, we can be set up against a more worthy opponent, let's head back" – Sighed Naruto, once again earning nods of acknowledgement from Shino and Shikamaru as the group began to jump between trees to get back. Shikamaru, though, couldn't help but want to get arise at Naruto.

"Oi Naruto, you could've left at least one Jounin with us you know, the Chuunin went out with only one attack, the Jounin could at least offer a better challenge" – Said Shikamaru, before hearing Naruto laugh at Shikamaru's comment.

"Sorry about that, Shika. I thought that when they managed to break my Genjutsu so quickly, that their skills were worth something, but in the end, they weren't much. The next time, if we are set up once more, it will be you guys who get to fight the strongest of them, deal" – Asked Naruto, before hearing Shikamaru mutter the word troublesome and smiled. Shikamaru knew enough not to underestimate Anbu's level missions. He damn well knew that at any moment, one slip occurs and his life ends.

===At Kaito's residence===

After the ninjas from Anbu returned to the client's house, Naruto was quite surprised to see a much familiar person talking with their client while showing a satisfied look on his face.

"As you can see Tazuna-dono, everything is in order, for our business to flourish" – Said Kaito, until the sight of the Anbus inside his house caught his attention. The man smiled and then turned to Tazuna who in turn also spotted the three shinobis standing there with their arms crossed. For some unknown reason, the Wave Daimyou focused his eyes on the one wearing a black mask. Tazuna could see that the man was blond which in turn resembled the little kid from so long ago, who saved their village and made it prosper.

Kaito only smiled, before adjusting his black suit and began to explain.

"Ah I see you met the team of shinobi I hired for an errand of mine, nothing to worry about, since the mission was accomplished, I presume" – Asked Kaito, earning a nod from Shikamaru, who in turn thanked the heavens for wearing a mask. Shikamaru couldn't help but smile at the client's pathetic attempt of hiding what really happened with the contract, but Shikamaru knew better. As a future heir, he knew that when money is involved, sometimes telling something that would endanger the negotiator's reputation would be better off keeping a secret.

Naruto, though, wondered what Tazuna was staring at him for. Of course, he met the old man briefly at the mission towards Wave Country and took care of the Shipping Magnate Gatou and his band of mercenaries. However, Naruto wasn't the only one there, since his sensei at the time managed to beat the most dangerous adversary. Naruto was caught by surprise when Tazuna addressed him, albeit not by his real name.

"Tell me something Black Masked Anbu, a long time a kid of your village managed to help us grow strong; I was wondering if you know about Uzumaki Naruto?" – Asked Tazuna. Naruto for his part, felt tempted to simply let go of the mask and say 'hello there', but he couldn't though. Tazuna, Tsunami, Inari and Haku were one of Naruto's precious people when he was young and no matter what changed, Naruto would always remember those who treated him nicely in his life. However, an Anbu just couldn't reveal his or her identity and that was the rule, no exceptions.

"Sorry Daimyou-sama, but said name brings me no recollection whatsoever. Now, Kaito-san, I believe our work here is done, so my team and I will be heading back to our village" – Said Naruto to which Kaito nodded. Immediately, Naruto turned to leave, but saw that Shikamaru and Shino didn't turn at first, but shortly after, they turned and left the house, towards Konoha.

On the way, no words were shared. Naruto chose a strategy position where he could be farther than Shikamaru and Shino, thus managing to cover more angles. That served for two purposes, one professional and one personal. The professional was obviously not falling on a trap. The personal, though, was that Naruto was thinking about the old man once more. Naruto felt the man wanted to say thanks for everything he and Team 7 did for Wave Country, but Naruto was an Anbu and as such, he had to abide by the Anbu code of conduct, which clearly states that no Anbu should reveal his or her identity under penalty of being expelled from the Anbu order and return to the Jounin position.

Shikamaru and Shino remained on the rear, looking at their leader up front. They wondered about what the Daimyou said about Naruto helping the country to stand once more and truth be told, they were curious. Also, they could easily feel at the time, how much Naruto fought to keep his mask on, instead of revealing his identity. But just like Naruto, everyone whoever passed through the Anbu forces had to make an blood oath to never reveal his or her identity under penalty of being stripped of the rank and become a regular Jounin.

"Do you think we should go talk to him?" – Asked Shikamaru, before looking at his partner in crime.

"I'm afraid I'm not the most suitable person for you to ask, my family teaching is purely based on logics, whereas this situation requires someone who's well versed in understanding emotions" – Explained Shino, earning a sigh in dismay from Shikamaru. How troublesome…

"You know, you could just say you didn't know, it would be easier" – Said Shikamaru, but Shino didn't bother to offer a reply to Shikamaru's comment.

===With Jiraiya===

After a while of discussions, each set to different paths and Jiraiya was heading back to Konoha. Thanks to Itachi, the info regarding the Fuinjutsu was complete. According to Itachi, the technique consisted of their leader summoning a demon statue who held the bijuu's aura. The members, would, then use chakra simultaneously to initiate the extraction technique. For now, that was okay, Jiraiya considered. He placed a condition for Itachi that he would be placed on suspension until Jiraiya could be certain that Itachi wouldn't backstab Konoha and capture Naruto.

Now this was a subject that interested the Sannin. Naruto was building an interesting reputation and even the mighty Uchiha Itachi is interested in fighting the Black Wolf Anbu. Nevertheless, Jiraiya needed to treat this situation carefully, because the consequences might be gigantic. Also, Jiraiya wouldn't even consider trading Naruto's safety in exchange for some secondary information that will only lead to the need of new clues to unravel more information.

The pervert knew one thing, though, Tsunade would have to know and she could very well kill him this time for associating with a S-ranked missing-nin who in the past only wanted to capture Naruto. Needless to say Jiraiya was already fearing the beating he would be about to receive after he drops the nuclear bomb.