Fight To The Death

Just after leaving the Gates, Naruto summoned a clone to inform Kurenai of his mission. After the clone was dismissed, the information came to the real Naruto and he acknowledged Kurenai's concern of his well-being. According to the memory, when the clone mentioned the snake's name, Kurenai flinched and a nervous face was plainly visible. The clone assured Kurenai that nothing would happen and that he would return to her soon enough. Whether or not, Naruto was positive he wouldn't face trouble was irrelevant, since he made a promise to return to Kurenai and no matter what changed in his life, a promise was a promise. That's why he felt inclined to go save Uchiha Sasuke and that's why he managed to keep that promise.

Now, charging towards the destination, Hawk was giving more precise description of the mission as well as complementing the jounin Takato's abilities, which earned some confusion to Naruto. Upon questioning about said abilities, Kakashi chose this opportunity to explain about Takato's clan to Naruto. "Chisoku Takato is the last member of what used to be one of the most talented clans in Konoha. All shinobis from this clan possessed an ability that allows them to multiply their running speed. The member's bones and body were better adjusted to high speeds, so members of said clan was positioned for specific kind of missions like document delivery or even espionage, since if they were caught, they could use their abilities to escape, hence what happened now. The Chisoku clan's abilities don't favor much towards battle, but in terms of completing a mission, they could be considered one of the best"- Explained Kakashi to which Naruto nodded, before asking the reason as to the clan falling apart.

Although said question was expected, none of the one presents wanted to answer, however seeing that it involved a certain sensei and hokage, Kakashi volunteered to explain. "When the Yondaime Hokage invented his prized technique called Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God Technique), the Chisoku clan wasn't rather 'happy' about it. At the time of its creation, they sort of blamed the Yondaime for copying their style and ruining the clan's pride. In case you don't know, with this technique, the Yondaime Hokage managed to reach impressive speeds in milliseconds, hence why he was called the Yellow Flash. Well, moving on, the Clan Heir at the time, threatened to leave Konoha if the Yondaime, only jounin at the time, confessed his act of copying the clan's technique. The Sandaime Hokage, at the time, wasn't pleased with the Clan's accusations, thus not acknowledging their request. After that, the clan abandoned Konoha, except for Takato's mother who didn't, because she had married a civilian in Konoha, so she chose to stay. A few months later, we discovered the entire clan was murdered by the Iwa forces who were lingering around Fire Country at the time" – Said Kakashi, earning another nod from the blond who dismissed the issue and returned to the task at hand.

"Ok, about the mission. According to Takato, Orochimaru's hideout is located within a few miles to the northeast. It's a possibility that since both Kabuto and Orochimaru saw Takato leaving, that they already left from fear of calling undesired attention. In any case, Tsunade-sama sent us in case Orochimaru wished to stay and continue his research. Should the hideout is still in sight, we are to eliminate as many targets as possible, search for researching materials in reference to the cursed seal for further analysis, before destroying the place" – Explained Hawk to which everyone nodded and proceeded towards the designated spot.

Upon arrival, the teams scrambled around the place as to not let anyone they are there. Since the cave was hidden by a thick forest, all Anbu members chose one tree in order to study the entrance before doing anything. Eventually, the coast was clear and Ace was told to sniff around in order to sense enemy's presence outside the cave. After a negative response from the wolf, the group appeared in front of the cave and proceeded with cautious. Whether or not, Orochimaru were expecting them, it wouldn't do good to simply walk inside and face the opponents head on. Once inside the cave, Kakashi's sharingan was activated so as to spot any chakra presences inside the vicinity. After saying that the coast was clear, The Anbu team ran swiftly inside the hideout in order to search for their primary objective, which was the research.

However, after a while of running, they found the hideout to be completely empty, no sign of enemies whatsoever, not even a single document or a single chemical substance was found. Sighing in frustration, Hawk dismissed the team and ordered all of them to leave the hideout. It seemed that Orochimaru did treasure his research and ran with it elsewhere. After leaving a couple of exploding tags inside the hideout, the Anbu team left the cave. Kakashi was in charge of the explosion, so he just focused some chakra for the detonation devise, before a huge explosion soon followed, destroying everything inside the hideout, if there was any. "Let's head back Team, it seems that the enemy had already escaped after all" – Said Hawk to which all his team nodded and prepared to leave, before Ace growled like never before.

"What's the matter Ace? Found something?" – Asked Black Wolf, though he wouldn't be too happy once he received the answer from his companion. "It seems that we're surrounded. I can't count all the scents, they are huge in numbers, I…I can't count them all" – Said Ace, making all of the team fall into a battle stance, just waiting for the enemy to appear, when a familiar voice appeared. "I was hoping Konoha would be foolish enough to send a team here to investigate. And since they sent a team of Anbu, that only means that I'll have excellent bodies to work on once you're dead" – Said Kabuto as his presence appeared, along with fifty cursed seal users behind him. "My master Orochimaru was nice enough to supply me with your bodies once you're all dead and I'm very grateful to him. Somehow, he knew Tsunade would be tempted to send someone else to investigate after that other jounin managed to escape with the information" – Said Kabuto to which Kakashi and Naruto stiffened and wondered why they have to encounter Kabuto so much on their lives.

It was bad enough that Orochimaru was going to pain in the ass, but his right hand proved to be more of an annoyance than the snake sannin. "Hawk-taichou, there are too many. What are we going to do?" – Asked Naruto, now a little fearful of the odds against him. The captain for his part was sweating bullets. He never faced the cursed seal before and now his team would be facing close to fifty wielders of the seal. "Escaping is not a solution at the moment, they have us surrounded. The best that we could do is engage in battle and hope that we manage to overcome them. At this point, our safety is our top priority, as captain of this mission, I'm changing our priority. We are to engage the enemy to kill, don't hesitate and if by chance, we manage to capture one for analysis, than it's a side bonus. Focus only on rendering them to sub consciousness" – Advised Hawk, earning a nod and a war cry from his team.

"Hawk, Dog and Bear, I have an idea for us to try taking out a fair number of them before we strike. It would be a co-op attack with all of us" – Called Naruto as his team joined in together as Naruto explained his plan. As Naruto explained, the rest were hearing intently to what appeared to be a well coordinated ninjutsu usage. After Naruto finished explaining, Hawk applauded the strategy and advised everyone to be ready. Seconds later, the army of cursed seal users attacked, thus giving Bear the signal to initiate the attack. "Doton Tsuchi Kairou (Earth Release: Earth Corridor Jutsu)" – Said Bear as he slammed his fists on the ground and instantly, earth began surrounding approximately 20 or so enemies inside, leaving only a narrow opening that would be served for the next attack. With phase one completed, Hawk and Dog began their series of hand seals for simultaneous Katon Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Missile Jutsu), being aimed at the hole created by Bear. While the attack was initiating Ace gathered fuuton chakra while Black Wolf did the hand seals for two Fuuton Reppushou (Wind Release: Gale Wind Palm Jutsu), aiming to merge together with the fire dragon missiles.

If one were to look from outside the earth corridor that now happened to be closed, it seemed that nothing was happening. However, seconds after the coordinated attacks, the earth corridor began to crumble, followed by a massive explosion, thus burning all of the enemies inside the earth corridor into just ashes. Upon seeing the result of what appeared to be plain futile, Kabuto groaned in annoyance from seeing close to half of his troops getting killed by three jutsus alone. Whether or not, Kabuto was impressed with the result, he knew this weren't amateurs and considered joining the battle to ensure their deaths. Back to Konoha Anbu team, it was pointless to say that they were visibly impressed. The theory was attainable, sure; but to see it come to fruition so perfectly like that it amazed the entire group. "Reminds me yet again how you come up with these stuff Black Wolf, because I stopped trying to figure out" – Murmured Hawk to which Bear and Dog slowly nodded and they managed to hear Naruto grinning.

"I just reminded of this pattern attack on a mission a while ago. We managed to take out maybe half of their numbers, but they still outnumber us" – Stated Naruto to which Hawk nodded, before an idea came to mind. Seeing that it was Naruto who managed to devise their battle strategy, why not let him take the leading of the mission. "So, Black Wolf what next?" – Asked Hawk, earning a look from Black Wolf in confusion. "What do you mean Hawk-taichou?" – Asked Naruto, though he knew he wouldn't like what his captain was about to say. "Since you devised our attack strategy, you get to lead us to victory against these foes. Now, what should we do next?" – Asked Hawk. However, Naruto was lenient to proceed and truth be told, he was expecting Naruto to readily agree and begin the assault. But Naruto was in fact fearful for some reason. "Hawk-taichou, I prefer the humility of being ordered. Besides, all three of you have twice as experience as I do, why me?" – Asked Naruto to which Kakashi chose to step up and convince his student.

"Black Wolf, try remembering that I and Itachi were Anbu captains much younger than you are right now. While you're right that we have more experience, you were the one able to reduce their forces to half their numbers. I feel you're ready for this" – Explained Dog to which Naruto looked at his sensei for a moment and wondered about whether or not he would be able to lead a squad of Anbu operatives. After that, he turned to his enemies and saw that the rest of them were already with the second level cursed seal activated. "Do I have all your support for this?" – Asked Naruto, without stopping to eye their opponents, before he sensed three hands on his shoulders and a paw scratching his legs. "Okay, then, here is the plan. Dog, you'll face Kabuto in battle, he doesn't seem so happy and he'll join in the next attack, so focus only on him" – Initiated Naruto, earning a nod from Kakashi who vanished and appeared right in front of Kabuto and both of them vanished, leaving three Anbu and a wolf against the cursed seal army.

"We four will take them out, but we'll do so within a defensive position. The cursed seal affects their mind and make them go ballistic, the only way to beat them is to defend and then attack when they are vulnerable. Me and Ace will supply a wind resistance around us, Bear and Hawk will use the opportunity and strike as much enemies as possible. Ace, we'll have to use a little bit of chakra to hold their attacks for as long as Hawk and Bear needs to. After that, we can turn our defensive wind into an offensive one and hopefully deal with them" – Explained Naruto to which Ace nodded and awaited for the attack that was sure to follow.

-With Kakashi-

"I can see you went back to Anbu, Kakashi-san. Actually, I'm happy that the black masked Anbu sent you here. I was hoping to kill you once and for all. I have to tell you, Orochimaru wasn't pleasant upon losing the sharingan to Naruto-kun. He'll be dealt with soon enough" – Said Kabuto, but frowned once he saw Kakashi laughing and he admitted something was entirely wrong here. Normally, Naruto's treat alone was enough to unnerve him. "I admitted I was getting somewhat sloppy after I retired from Anbu. You couldn't possibly hope to beat me nor can't you beat Naruto. He managed to fight Sasuke's cursed seal level two and he was victorious. Also, I was hoping you could tell Orochimaru to go to hell, but I guess you had a long live so far, Kabuto. I'm sorry to say that your death is today" – Said Kakashi as he activated his sharingan and suddenly Kabuto was trapped within a powerful genjutsu called Magen Jigoku Gouka no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion – Hell Fire Technique).

Suddenly, Kabuto was facing the depths of hell as a volcano temperature fire surrounded his body. Normally, genjutsu only affected the opponent's mind, thus sending false information to the enemy's brain. However, this one was quite different and Kabuto remembered how Sasuke used to do the same technique just by looking with his sharingan. However, Kabuto prided himself of his excellent chakra control so he was able to disrupt the genjutsu, before eyeing Kakashi holding a chidori on his right hand. "Took you quite a while to disrupt that genjutsu, Kabuto-san; I was really considering killing you already while you're fighting the genjutsu, but with your little cell regeneration ability, I have to deliver a killing blow. Let's go" – Said Kakashi before he vanished from sight and hit the chidori right on Kabuto's right shoulder, thus earning a scream from the man, before Kakashi kicked him in the gut and sent him flying.

When Kabuto got up and let his ability do its thing, he was wondering what happened to Kakashi suddenly becoming stronger and faster like that. He couldn't even see or sense the silver haired man moving and approaching him, except when his raiton technique already pierced his shoulder. "I don't intend to leave you be Kabuto-san, I'm just beginning. This is for everything you and Orochimaru caused to Konoha. You're in for quite a show, let's continue" – Said Kakashi before he began a series of hand seals for Raiton Ikazuchi no Yari (Lightning Release: Thunder Spear Jutsu). Suddenly, two thunder spears shot at Kabuto who narrowly managed to dodge and used his momentum to attack Kakashi with his chakra scalpel. When Kabuto was about to cut Kakashi's muscles, Kakashi just caught Kabuto's wrist, thus immobilizing the man, obliging him to stop the flow of chakra through his hands. "Do you really think you can cheat the sharingan from seeing your every movement, Kabuto-san" – Said Kakashi as he twisted Kabuto's hands and threw him to the ground with great force.

Before Kabuto could even acknowledge what happened, a kunai suddenly appeared right in front of his eyes, but Kakashi missed on purpose, just cutting a piece of Kabuto's ear. Kabuto sometimes prided himself of not cowering even after seeing Orochimaru's glare at him; however when Kakashi fixed his sharingan eye straight at him, Kabuto was trembling. Not only the eye, but Kabuto was now experiencing the reason why copy-cat ninja Kakashi was so feared in the past. This Kakashi was different; he was stronger, faster and ruthless. "I seem to reach the position where I'm satisfied. Seeing you tremble in fear showed me that you are nothing but a coward who hides under Orochimaru's skirt. Without him, you're nothing. Now, I will kill you and send a message to Orochimaru" – Said Kakashi before throwing Kabuto to the nearest tree and pinned him with his ninjato.

"Until now, the only technique that managed to inflict enough damage on your body was Naruto's rasengan. So, it's only fair that the next attack is even stronger than the normal rasengan. This technique is similar to the one Naruto used to defeat Sasuke; the only difference is the element. See you in the afterlife" – Said Kakashi as a clone suddenly appeared and together they initiated the Raiton Rasen Daikai (Lightning Release: Spiral Electrical Field Jutsu). Kabuto couldn't do nothing but observe as the immense electric field surrounded the rasengan and wondered how Naruto's technique was.

"If you're wondering about Naruto's jutsu, bare in mind that his technique is far superior to mine, while mine shock your entire body to cellular level, Naruto's damage can shred every cell within your body. Actually, if it weren't for the cursed seal, Sasuke would've been killed instantly. Good bye Kabuto-san" – Said Kakashi before he slammed his rasengan at Kabuto and watched impassively as Kabuto tried with effort to scream, but he couldn't. The electricity that now ran throughout his body was enough to fry every inner organ, so vocal chords were already destroyed by now. After a while, the electrical field was still activated and Kabuto was, surprisingly, still alive, but barely. Kakashi figured that his healing ability was doing its best to heal, but all of it was in vain.

After a while, Kabuto's body fell on the ground, all burned. His eye sockets were all white and no vital sign, whatsoever, remained. Man, I even forgot that I could be like this when I was angry. Better not let this happen again, if Kabuto managed to use this to his advantage, I'd have trouble in fighting. I better check on Naruto and the team to see how they're fairing – Thought Kakashi as he vanished and appeared at the battlefield, only to lift his eyebrows at what he saw.

-In Konoha-

Back in Konoha, the only word one could describe was peace: People walking around, talking with friends; kids playing at the park with their families and shinobis training at the training fields. However inside a restaurant, three ladies were drinking some tea and discussing about a certain person. Kurenai and Anko just watched as Yuugao, now wearing the standard jounin uniform, finished to drink her tea. "Tell me Yuugao-chan, what's the matter? Why did you abandon everything?" – Asked Kurenai to which Yuugao landed her cup at the table and looked at her friend.

During her week off, Yuugao was able to meditate on the events that happened with her life. Hayate's betrayal; her fawning over Kurenai's boyfriend Naruto; her decision to abandon Anbu and return to being a normal jounin; she went through all these facts and wondered why all these happened to her. Since she could remember, Yuugao always thought of her was a warrior. Daughter of a samurai clan, she never focused so much on other topics aside from the shinobi world. She remembered meeting Hayate on her junior years in Anbu and how he changed her thinking, as well as showing her how it was to be loved by someone for the first time, outside her family. When he betrayed her, at first she wondered what animal possessed him to change so much and actually blamed herself for not seeing it sooner.

However, after meditating a bit, she became aware that it wasn't her fault and that it was Hayate who changed drastically. Yuugao once smiled upon realizing that the only bond they had with the sick jounin was boyfriend and girlfriend. So, apart from the heartache, Yuugao acknowledged now other possibilities in life. Now, back at the dango shop, Yuugao looked at her two friends and explained it to them.

"After everything that happened in my life, I felt like I needed some time off to wonder. Hayate's doing was like a kunai stabbed throw my heart and then seeing Naruto with second intentions was even worse, cause not only I was doing the same thing as Hayate did, but also I was hurting your heart Kurenai-chan. I chose to leave, because I felt like a chapter of my life ended. I no longer wished to go to work and fight alongside my Anbu team, I no longer wished to focus only on using a mask and not being able to walk freely with fear of people discovering my identity. I see couples enjoying themselves and I wondered if there is someone out there for me. For this moment on, you're seeing a new Yuugao"

Kurenai and Anko couldn't help but smile at their friend. Her face was glowing with relief and both of them could see that the weight that she was carrying now doesn't exist anymore. "You look happy Yuugao-chan. I'm glad to see you like this, it suits you, you know. Don't worry, you'll find someone, that's a promise. And just like I learned from Naruto-kun, a promise is a promise" – Said Kurenai to which Yuugao and Anko nodded and drank once again their tea.

-With Naruto and co-

While Kakashi's battle was going on, Naruto's plan proved to be successful. He and Ace did a coordinated wind shield defense, enabling Hawk and Bear to attack them, landing the killing blow within their necks. They've already managed to take out ten more of the enemy's numbers, but at the cost of high chakra usage. Since Ace didn't have as much chakra as Naruto, the blond supplied the extra force to equal the wind shield, however he saw that Hawk and Bear wasn't fairing very well either. Because of the wind around them, both had to use chakra to force their movements and attack the enemies with their swords.

Now, all that left was approximately eight of them but Naruto was the only one with chakra left to fight and he was worried as hell. He couldn't let his partners take the next attack, since they wouldn't have chakra to defend themselves. Stamina was an issue as well, so Naruto summoned three kage bunshins and took them to safety before looking at his eight opponents. Even though Naruto had plenty of chakra to use, he was beginning to sweat from lack of stamina, so he needed to be careful. The enemy wasn't so smart and that was an advantage, however their numbers supplied them with the advantage and Naruto was alone to fight.

"Lone Wolf…" – Thought Naruto. It was a bit ironic that he finds himself alone fighting a group of enemies. He didn't need to worry about others; any longer and now his training would come to fruition once more.

Flashback on

Inside Anbu training ground, Naruto was creating his next genjutsu attack followed by kenjutsu. He needed a genjutsu attack that would affect an entire group of enemies, instead of one at a time. However, he couldn't think of how to expand the Heki Shuukai no Jutsu (False Surroundings Technique), thus being able to affect more than one. That being said, he went to the library and searched for area genjutsus. Naruto acknowledged that affecting the entire area instead of focusing on the enemies, would be better and the risk of not working would diminish. Naruto remembered the genjutsu on the time of the Sand-Sound invasion that happened to affect the entire arena and wondered how such a feat was possible.

According to a book he took, in order to affect an entire area, Naruto would have to expand his point of focus and spread the chakra along the area which will be affected by the genjutsu. The book also had some jutsus to teach, but so far neither of them had the desired affect. What Naruto was looking for, was something to mess the enemy's perception of their surroundings, kind like walk right into a tree without realizing it or attack something that wasn't even there in the first place. After almost giving up, Naruto looked at one interesting one and studied. The jutsu was fairly easy to do, since he had knowledge of raiton element.

Flashback off

Upon looking at his opponents once more, Naruto initiated the long series of hand seals for the genjutsu he learned. The cursed seal users, though, attacked him once again, however by the time, they began moving, Naruto finished the hand seals and screamed. "Magen Nakaru Arashi (Demonic Illusion Hell Storm Jutsu)" – Said Naruto as he expanded his chakra to catch the whole field, thus trapping every enemy inside. The army suddenly stopped and tried dodging the incoming torrential lightning bolts from the sky. The sky was black and the thunderbolts were destroying the entire field, halting the advance of the cursed seal users. They didn't know what was happening and by now, the cursed seal already reverted back. Naruto used this advantage and attacked all of them individually just like Hawk and Bear did, right in the neck.

This was the scene Kakashi saw upon arriving. He saw the lightning bolts tormenting the forest and Black Wolf killing everyone and no sign of the rest. His sharingan alerted him of genjutsu usage and he wondered if Naruto was the creator of this wide-area genjutsu. He saw Naruto killing everyone, but one girl, just knocking her off instead. After dispelling the genjutsu, Naruto fell on the ground, panting from using so much chakra for this technique. Seeing this, Kakashi ran to his student to see if he was okay to which Naruto nodded and slowly got up. "I'm ok so as the team" – Said Naruto before three kage bunshins appeared, bringing his team. Kakashi nodded and gave Naruto a chakra pill to return to Konoha.

When the team gathered again, Kakashi talked about him killing Kabuto and Naruto told about his new genjutsu attack and him only knocking one of them out to bring to Konoha for analysis. "Great work, Black Wolf. Now, we'll rest for a bit before retuning to Konoha. Dog, please send a message to Tsunade-sama explaining about what happened and tell her that we'd be arriving shortly" – Ordered Hawk to which Kakashi nodded and took out a scroll before writing a report to the Hokage. After finishing, he summoned Pakkun and told him to give this to the Hokage to which said dog nodded and left the premises.

With Black Wolf resting near a tree, he was being studied by his peers. Kakashi was visibly impressed with Naruto's performance on missions and was glad that he chose to come back to Anbu duty. It's been awhile since he fought seriously and with his dog mask, he didn't have to worry about being seen by others. Hawk and Bear was also impressed with Naruto's plan of defense. However, both of them cursed their lack of chakra compared to Naruto. When Hawk said this out loud, Kakashi began laughing like crazy from remembering a certain Uchiha complaining about the same thing. "What's so funny senpai?" – Asked Bear to which Hatake Kakashi looked at him. "Oh it's nothing; I just remembered Uchiha Sasuke complaining about not having as much chakra as Naruto a while ago" – Said Kakashi. Little did they know, though, that a certain fox felt tempted to text Naruto once again while he was asleep.

-Inside his mindscape-

Once again Naruto was standing in front of Kyuubi's cage. "Why you interrupted my sleep Kyuubi? - Asked Naruto, before the fox laughed a bit before speaking. "I believe I was clear that I would do this for time to time. First challenge was Zabuza, now I'll search your mind for an enemy for you to beat and I also will set the scenery….Huh, let's see. The first challenge was a suiton kenjutsu specialist, so Kisame would be the same challenge. I'm not in the mood of settling you against an enemy, this time you'll be facing an allied. I happen to know for a fact that Konoha produces some fine shinobi. So, how about this one" – Said Kyuubi as a person began materializing in front of the blond.

When the image appeared, though, Naruto could say he was shocked. There in front of him with his arms crossed, was his Anbu commander Yamato. However, something was amiss here. "Why him?" – Asked Naruto to which Kyuubi laughed a bit and responded. "I know for a fact that you'll never get to fight a wood user, simply because he's the only one. However, Yamato's abilities revolve around doton and suiton as well as the fact that he is far superior to you in fighting skills. I won't be channeling my chakra to him, this time, seeing that your state of mind is a little bit affected from your fighting earlier. Being that said, let's chose the scenery." – Thought Kyuubi before the scenery changed and they returned to the place where Naruto first learned about wind manipulation.

In the real world, all of them felt Naruto's chakra being used and turned to see what was happening. Kakashi sighed and decided to explain. "The fox is once again testing him" – Said Dog, earning surprised looks from Bear and Hawk. "What do you mean testing him?" – Asked Bear.

"Kyuubi is a proud demon, so he constantly challenges Naruto on a battle. What he does is take an enemy from Naruto's memory and impersonate said person and his abilities. According to Naruto, the demon does this in order to improve Naruto's fighting skills and usage of his techniques. It's open for us to see if we so wish. We just have to touch his shoulder and we, instantly, enter Naruto's mindscape" – Said Kakashi before seeing Hawk and Bear actually wanting to do it, but both felt hesitant to do so, from fear of seeing the beast. However, they wished to see what was going on, so all three of them went and asked Ace to guard them. When they touched Naruto's body, immediately, they appeared inside the training field. "Huh, it seems we have audience yet again" – Said Kyuubi, gaining the attention of the three Anbus.

Kakashi was fine, since he already saw the fox the first time, but Hawk and Bear were trembling like crazy. "Don't worry about the fox, he won't do anything to either of you" – Said Naruto, not even bothering to turn, thus remaining to eye Yamato. "Wait, why Naruto is fighting our commander?" – Asked Bear, after being able to maintaining a calm behavior. "I happened to set him up against Yamato, so that Naruto can experience fighting. First one was Momochi Zabuza and now it's Yamato's turn" – Said Kyuubi, before issuing Yamato to begin. "Mokuton Daijurin no Jutsu (Wood Release: Great Forest Jutsu)". Instantly, Yamato's arm transformed into a thick log which upon attack, begin splitting into sharp edges and attacked Naruto, who in turn made some seals for Fuuton Shippuu no Tate (Wind Release: Hurricane Shield Jutsu).

After Naruto blocked the attack, Yamato took his sword and attacked Naruto who in turn used his Heki Shuukkai and dodged the attack in time. Seeing the genjutsu immediately, Yamato dispelled it and attacked Naruto one more time who took his and the kenjutsu battle began. After a while of sword slashing, Yamato used his foot and landed one heavy kick on Naruto's chest, thus sending him flying towards the water. Using the momentum of the flying, Naruto flipped and landed on top of the water, before seeing Yamato charging against him fast. Making some hand seals for Suiton Mizu Kamikiri (Water Release: Water Cutter Jutsu) and sending the attack straightforward to meet Yamato.

Being an experienced fighter, Yamato saw the jutsu initiating and made a moku bunshin to take the attack and punched Naruto with great force on the face. "When I said I wouldn't channel my chakra to him, I didn't say I wouldn't use my experience in fighting and control him to anticipate your movements Naruto. You have to be faster than he is to overcome him" – Said Kyuubi to which Naruto mumbled something about stupid foxes and got up. Making some hand seals and molding his chakra, suddenly Naruto created what looked to be a storm above. Even if Yamato knew it was a genjutsu, he needed a lot more control over his chakra to disrupt this level of technique, giving Naruto enough time to channel chakra to his wrist and landing a straight hit on Yamato's face, this time sending him flying.

Meanwhile, Naruto's team were discussing about the battle. "Yamato is more inclined to close combat, so it's only logical that he prefers taijutsu over ninjutsu. Naruto is the opposite, though his close combat skills are good. Also, this fight will prolong forever, since in order to win this, one have to land a incapacitate blow. Chakra in infinite in this place" – Said Kakashi to which Hawk continued. "Not to mention that Yamato is our top commander, so Naruto is, of course, having trouble to beat him" – Said Hawk.

Back to the fight, Naruto and Yamato eyed each other once more, before Yamato charged once again, this time making hand seals. Suiton Hahonryuu (Water Release: Destruction Torrent Jutsu). Naruto remembered the jutsu he used to merge with Yamato's technique, so he figured that together they would cancel each other. Summoning a shadow clone, Naruto performed his fuuton rasengan and attacked Yamato's attack, managing to cancel Yamato's attack and appearing a water hurricane in the middle of the field. "Quite a memory you have Naruto, well, let's step things up a bit" – Said Kyuubi before Yamato began making hand seals for Doton Doryuudan no Jutsu (Earth Release: Mud Dragon Projectiles Jutsu).

The speed in which the mud projectiles were approaching was amazing and Naruto had no choice but to use his hurricane shield once again. However as the projectiles hit the hurricane, one of them managed to piss and hit Naruto right in the chest, sending him flying to a tree and hitting dead on. "Huh, it seems you're not ready to overcome yourself yet Naruto" – Said Kyuubi as he dismissed Yamato, making Naruto look at the fox in question and pure confusion. "What do you mean overcome myself? I was fighting Yamato not me" – Shouted Naruto, but Kakashi chose to complete. "Although Yamato was your opponent, he was already aware of what you could do, Naruto. I could be wrong, but since Kyuubi was controlling him, the fox has all data of your attacks and how to break them. This training was for you to acknowledge this" – Said Kakashi to which Kyuubi nodded and completed.

"The only time you managed to hit Yamato was because you used an attack that up to now you hadn't used it yet, hence why he or rather I was taken by surprise. You did become strong Naruto, but you happened to focus more on ninjutsu and genjutsu, but not so much on close combat skills. Even now, your punch was only strong because you used chakra to power it up" - Said Kyuubi to which Naruto nodded and wondered why the hell Kyuubi was behaving like a teacher. "Well, it seems we need to practice a bit more, isn't it Naruto?" – Asked Kakashi as he helped his student to stand up.

Just before Naruto was about to reply, all of them were expelled from inside his mindscape and appeared in the outside world. A few minutes later, the group charged back to Konoha, before reading Tsunade's message. According to the woman, even though the hideout was already empty, the mission was a success, seeing that not only Kabuto was killed, but also they managed to send one of the affected for analysis. Kakashi, however, saw that Naruto wasn't so thrilled to lose Kyuubi's challenge, so he slowed down a bit and asked about it.

"It's been some time since someone kicked my ass sensei, I'm just coming in terms with it" – Said Naruto to which Kakashi nodded and explained it to his student. "It's not always a good thing to never lose. No matter how humble you are, you'll end up being arrogant about your abilities and underestimate the opponent. Ever since you brought Sasuke, you've never faced someone you couldn't beat. Sometimes, you need to lose in order to grow as a shinobi. When we come back, we'll train more your stamina and taijutsu. We'll search for a style that suits your fighting skills" – Said Kakashi to which Naruto looked at him for a while, before nodding. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei"

-In Konoha-

Once the team returned to Konoha, they presented in front of Tsunade for advanced debriefing. Apart from the mission outcome, Tsunade managed to hear the fighting and was glad that Orochimaru's henchman Kabuto was finally dead. Tsunade fought the guy once and was ashamed to say she needed Naruto to help her out at the time. Course, at the time, she still suffered from hemophobia and that damn snake happen to throw blood right at her face at the time. Without further a due, Tsunade dismissed the Anbu team and returned to her duties.

After leaving Tsunade's office, the Anbu team scattered in separate ways since their job was done for the day. Kakashi, Hawk and Bear went to their homes, but Naruto had one last stop before heading home. He made a promise to come back to his lover and he would kill himself before failing what he promised. As he jumped through buildings, he noticed the sun was a few hours away from setting down and remembered the time when he would just sit on top of Yondaime's head at the Hokage Monument and just watch the sun setting and Konoha turning on their lights. Seeing this, he smiled as an idea popped in his head. After arriving, he knocked the door and waited patiently as he heard footsteps coming for the door. As soon as the door was opened, Naruto and Kurenai faced each other for a while, before the mask was off and they were already kissing each other.

"I'm back my hime, just like I promised" – Said Naruto to which Kurenai smiled and hugged him fiercely. "Thank kami, I was worried about you. Every time, Orochimaru decides to appear, something bad happens. How did it go?" – Asked Kurenai to which Naruto explained everything from Kakashi landing a killing blow to Kabuto and Naruto's team taking out an army of cursed seal users. However, Kurenai noticed Naruto's light down look and wondered what happened. Upon asking, Naruto explained that he lost the battle Kyuubi set up. Naruto explained that he was set up against the Anbu commander and that no matter what attacks he used, Yamato would dodge the attacks and attack Naruto when he least expected. Naruto also told Kurenai about Kyuubi and Kakashi's lesson to him which consisted of him not being able to overcome himself in battle. After hearing this, Kurenai understood her lover's feeling down. Not losing for a while, tend to increase the ninja's sense of invincibility and that could be fatal. "You understand that what they are saying is right don't you?" – Asked Kurenai, now being serious for a moment.

"I do. I never thought that arrogance could be so difficult to fight. Kakashi-sensei told me that even the most humble shinobis could grow to be arrogant in their abilities and he was right. Until now, I didn't find an opponent I couldn't beat and that boosted my over-confidence into believing that my fighting skills were enough to overcome opponents. Also, I'm ashamed to say that I focused more on genjutsu and ninjutsu, than taijutsu/kenjutsu. Tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei and I will train taijutsu and hope to improve my taijutsu style" – Said Naruto to which Kurenai nodded. "Well, at least you learned this the easy way. Imagine you learning this fighting someone for real" – Said Kurenai to which Naruto nodded, but he was still looking down which meant that although realization was upon him, didn't mean he liked it. Kurenai, then, lifted his chin so that he would look at her. "Hey, don't be like this. You have potential to become even greater than Kakashi or anyone of us. Picture like this, you already know what needs to be changed. Chakra wise, you're as experienced as a sannin, but you just need to improve your taijutsu. Now, give me a kiss, I missed you." – Said Kurenai to which Naruto smiled and did just that.

However, what first started with a kiss, now the couple begin making out. Hands were massaging each other's body. Naruto's hands were caressing Kurenai's soft hair with one and using the other one to caress her soft skin. Kurenai, on the other hand, was using her to feel Naruto's muscles and safe to say, she adored feeling those rip muscles. She could only tempt to imagine once Naruto focus more on physical workout. Just the thought alone already turned her on and now that they initiated the path there was no turning back. Positioning to take Naruto's vest off, she ended up giving said indication to Naruto who in turn smiled and gladly took his vest off, showing to Kurenai his muscled chest. Said girl didn't waste time and began massaging Naruto's chest with her bare hands, before begin using her tongue to have a taste.

While she was doing this, Naruto positioned to take Kurenai's top off, which she accepted eagerly and exposed her magnificent breasts. Naruto didn't waste time and began sucking it, earning a moan in ecstasy from Kurenai. Said woman, in turn, grabbed his hair with intensity and began massaging it while Naruto used his tongue to lick her nipples hard. By this time, the hormones already took charge and the couple was only driven by pure lust for one another. Kurenai just loved how Naruto would play with her chests by using his tongue with one breast and using both hands to massage her tits, making her moan for his name and begging for more. Acknowledging the request, Naruto's tongue went downstairs slowly, licking Kurenai's stomach and reaching her private area or so he would, if her panties weren't in the way. It was only after Kurenai screamed for him to rip it off and continue that he eagerly yanked it with force and stuck his tongue inside Kurenai's inner walls. The scream that followed was enough to make every man go crazy. Kurenai screamed for Naruto to continue nonstop and she grabbed his hair, forcing him to go even deeper. After a while, Kurenai was already biting her lower lip from not screaming Naruto's name, before her body began trembling. "Oh my god, keep it going Naruto-kun, I'm cumming oh my god, this is amazing" – Shouted Kurenai as he inner walls exploded.

"Hearing you moan makes me go crazy Kurenai-hime" – Whispered Naruto close to her ear, before he was tackled and instantly his pants were off. Kurenai didn't waste time and put Naruto's cock inside her mouth. It was her time now to make him cum. After hearing Naruto moan, Kurenai increased the pace until Naruto's body began trembling and he came right inside her mouth. "Well, now we're even right Naruto-kun" – Said Kurenai as she played a bit with his cock, but was surprised when it got hard out of a sudden. "What next, then, hime?" – Asked Naruto, though with a hint to which Kurenai smiled and placed Naruto's cock inside her. "You already know the answer to the question Naruto-kun, ahhh" – Moaned Kurenai as Naruto became the insertion movement. Kurenai kneeled on her bed for Naruto to position himself behind her and once again positioned his cock inside her. As the movement proceeded, Kurenai was feeling her inner walls being filled completely and she squeezed her sheets so fiercely with her hands, indicating how much she was enjoying this.

It wasn't long until Naruto flipped Kurenai and she was now on top of him, going up and down on his member. "Oh god, hime, I'm about to cum, oh god" – Shouted Naruto and Kurenai screamed the same thing which indicated that both would cum the same time, a feat that rarely happened. When the couple lied down to rest, the bed was all wet from the sex and both laughed for a while, before Naruto remembered his idea. "Kurenai-hime, I want to take you to a place, please come with me" – Said Naruto to which Kurenai smiled and went to change, but her curiosity was too much. She asked where it was, but Naruto said it was a surprise, so she accepted and got changed. After they were done putting on some clothes, Naruto shunshined with her and appeared right on top of Yondaime's head, right as the sun was setting.

Upon arriving, Kurenai noticed the sight before them and her eyes widen instantly. This was the most amazing view of the sun she ever got. When she looked to her boyfriend, he was already sited on top of the Yondaime's head and ushering her to join him. "Naruto-kun, this place is wonderful. How did you find this?" – Asked Kurenai to which Naruto explained that he used to come here every time since he was a child and also explained that he always chose Yondaime's head to stay on to which Kurenai smiled, but instantly a suspicious thought came crushing like an earth jutsu. She remembered seeing the Yondaime when she was little and compared Naruto's face with. Apart from the whisker marks, the two were like clones. Kurenai chose to let go for a moment and just appreciate the view, but her curiosity forbid her to let this subject go. She would definitely ask someone later, maybe Kakashi can supply her with the answer.

-The next day-

The next day, at the ninja academy, the new graduates of this year were showing their hitai-ates to their friends, when Umino Iruka entered the place. "Alright everyone, I'm proud to say that you managed to graduate and are now genins. However, your path is now commencing. Your life as shinobi will depend upon the choices you make and the battles you face. No matter what happens, care the village symbol with pride and always look out for one another. You'll now be divided in teams of three under the command of a jounin who will be in charge of your training and will be performing missions with you" – Said Iruka as he initiated the team nominations. "…Team 6's jounin sensei is Uzuki Yuugao and Team 8 is Chisoku Takato. Well, good luck out there for all of you and I hope to see all of you rising in ranks. Now, you'll have an hour for lunch and then come back here to meet your jounin senseis" – Said Iruka, before the selected teams joined and went to lunch to get to know each other better.