Chapter 56

Naruto and Temari lay under their blanket, with the latter on her side and idly tracing circles on Naruto's chest. Naruto was just looking up to the ceiling, lost in the stars he had decorated on the ceiling. It was something that Temari had done for him. She said she found serenity looking at the stars in the night, and hoped they brought it to him too.

Naruto was moved by Temari's love for him.

When they came back from Naruto's test fight, they ate the dinner that Temari had her shadow clones prepare. He was impressed that she was able to manifest five shadow clones with ease, and much more when he tasted her food. He ate every dish with relish, like a man eating homecooked food after a long time, which he was.

After dinner, Naruto had tried out the jacuzzi of his own home for the first time. And it was a memorable experience, only made more enjoyable by Temari joining him inside. The hot water, with jasmine soap bubbles just worked wonders to relax his body.

As they were getting out of the bath, Naruto finally couldn't hold himself in check in anymore, which led them to the bedroom. They didn't go all the way though, since Temari regretfully informed him that she had to depart for Suna tomorrow, and as such needed her legs in working condition. Naruto would have been deeply upset by the news, if Temari hadn't shown how skilled she had become in using her mouth.

Currently, she just lay beside him, running circles with her fingers on his chest, marveling how hard his muscles had become. When Naruto had first taken off his clothes for their bath, Temari had frozen for several moments when she saw his spectacularly improved form, much to her embarrassment.

Of course, Naruto had no such shame in gawking at her body when she removed her bathrobe. Temari had filled out, in the ways only women could. She had gotten rid of almost all the baby fat she had, except for her face. It was narrower than before, but still held hints of baby fat. Her stomach had a, at least according to women standards, defined six pack. Her hips had become deliciously rounded, followed down by toned thighs. Last but not the least, her bust had wonderfully matured, becoming much more rounded with perky nipples.

She was even more beautiful without her clothes.

"You know, I never knew you had such an impressive growth curve, Temari," Naruto commented, never taking his eyes off the stars.

Temari gave a small smile at that. "Maybe that's because you've never actually seen it with your own eyes? I didn't have much problem when learning fuuton ninjutsu when growing up."

He finally turned his eyes to her, a fond look in his eyes. "That could be one of the reasons. From your words, it seems like we both have an instinctive grasp on learning. But I like to think that you're just that badass."

A haughty smirk was her response. "Damn straight."

But then the smirk faded and a melancholic look appeared in her eyes. "Naruto….."

Sensing that the conversation had turned emotional, Naruto shifted until he was face to face with Temari, his lips a hair's breadth from hers. "What is it, Temari?"

Temari gulped down her nervousness. Naruto's voice was a whisper that was only loud enough to be heard by her, and their lack of clothing wasn't helping her gather the seriousness needed for what she was about to tell him. Still, she took a deep breath and said, "Naruto…..while I was away training…..I had a disturbing realization."

Naruto frowned in concern. "Tell me about it."

Temari recounted all that her master had told her about Akatsuki's activity. "The S-rank mercenary group, Akatsuki….they're after you, aren't they?"

She watched as guilt flashed across his face for a second, before being replaced by grim. "Technically, they're after Kurama in my stomach but…..yes, they're after me."

Temari's face became pained. "Then why didn't you tell me?"

Naruto couldn't help the wince. Her voice was filled with accusation and betrayal. "Temari….I didn't want you to be worried over me."

If Naruto had been wearing a shirt right now, Temari would have grabbed it, pulled him closer in frustration and slapped him. As such, in her current situation she could only beat her fist on his chest. "Naruto, I'm your wife dammit! How can I not worry over you?!"

Naruto's expression became downcast. "If I had told you about the Akatsuki, you would have been distracted from your training, Temari. It would have only bothered me if I was the reason you couldn't train properly. There's a reason why our friends don't know about them, and I'm not at liberty to tell."

Naruto's words were sincere, but Temari was more hurt by the fact that he kept this from her. "You have a group of S-rank terrorists after you, and you kept this from me so I could concentrate on my training?! You're more important to me than training, Naruto! Without you," her voice became softer as she tried to find words to make him understand, "I wouldn't know what to do."

Naruto palmed the side of her face. "And you're more important to me than anything else. I want you to be happy, but I can't do that if I'm not even here, right?

"You were my motivation during my training, Temari. I want to be strong enough to protect both of us. And I know that you love me, there are no doubts about that. But in our world, love isn't strong enough by itself. You need to be strong as well." He paused for a moment and then chuckled, "Man, I sound like an old man."

Temari was suddenly tired of talking about the subject. She knew that Naruto had her best interests in mind, but sometimes she felt that Naruto relied more on logic and less on emotion. He did have social cues, but sometimes she felt that they were lacking.

"So what's your reason for not contacting me?"

Naruto's question snapped her out of her thoughts. She sighed, emotional exhaustion only increasing. "Tsunade was the one who told me that no one was to contact you and Jiraiya except for her, for she was the one who assigned you missions. That was the first thing she told me when she gave me the pad."

Naruto gave a thoughtful hum. "Well, that's definitely a Hokage's decision. I gotta thank her for telling you that."

Temari felt anger stirring in her. He was taking her talk too lightly. "And why is that?"

The anger must have bled into her tone, for he immediately kissed her. Naruto really had some sort of magic in his kisses, for the anger suddenly disappeared. It seemed that staying angry at Naruto for too long was something that not many people could do. She melted into the kisses, their lips moving against each other in an incredibly sensual manner. It wasn't helping Temari's case as the close body contact made it hard to be angry.

Naruto pulled away first, her lower lip in his grasp. He smirked in satisfaction when he heard her quiet moan of disappointment. "I would have gotten distracted. Besides, you haven't seen even the half of what I'm capable of now."

Temari's eyes grew wide. "Have you improved that much in just three years?"

Naruto just kept smirking, choosing not to answer her question. He rolled over, turning his back to her, yawning loudly. "I'm feeling tired, Temari. Let's sleep."

"What the- you don't get to leave me hanging like that! Naruto!"

She shook him, but Naruto was fast asleep in seconds, a skill he had developed on his trip with Jiraiya.

Temari grumbled to herself, but turned away from him and closed her eyes. She was still upset with him, no matter how many kisses he peppered her with.

XXXXXXX

Naruto didn't know whether to be impressed or put out. He had left early in the morning to get in some training. Leaving the bed proved to be quite an arduous task for him. Temari clinging to him in her birthday suit, the incredible warmth that was the result of the blanket and close contact with Temari, and Temari half draped over him, pushing onto his morning wood, which had been standing at full attention.

Despite her claims to be upset with him, she was surprisingly clingy. It was definitely a good thing that she hadn't come with him and Jiraiya, otherwise he wasn't sure he would be able to train with his attention split between training and Temari.

Now that he was back, he eyed the breakfast in front of him. Six boiled eggs, perfectly cut into pieces and arranged on the plate, sprinkled on with salt and pepper and a glass of milk.

Breakfast of champions, he thought dryly.

He had hoped to have breakfast with her, but it seemed that she was still trying to pretend that she was upset with him. Which was why she left before he came back. As he bit into the eggs, he wondered what kind of mission would Tsunade give his team. Now that the team was comprised of two S-ranks, it would be a disappointment if they received anything less than a high B-rank.

He still had a total of forty minutes before he had to report at the missions desk. Plenty of time.

Meanwhile, at the Hokage tower, Tsunade was at her desk, glancing disdainfully at the pile of paperwork that awaited her. She couldn't understand why Naruto wanted to be Hokage if this was the crap they had to deal with every day. With a sigh of defeat, she sat down on her desk to begin.

"Mentally exhausting, isn't it?"

She glanced up to see her sensei, Sarutobi Hiruzen, standing in the middle of the office, the barest of smirks on his face.

Hiruzen hadn't changed at all in the past three years. After being retired, he had much more time to manage his clan affairs himself. His shoulders were much more relaxed, now that he didn't need to thing about the good of the village all the time. After a long, long time, he could finally focus on training Konohamaru. The young Sarutobi had been begging him to train him, for when "Naruto nii-chan" came back, he at least wanted to be capable enough of making him sweat. Even though Asuma was lazy even when it came to training his team, he was unexpectedly put out when Konohamaru said he didn't want him to train him.

"I've seen how lazy you are even with your own team, oji-san. And I really want to get stronger by doing something instead of just playing shogi all day!"

It was a hilarious moment for the Sarutobi clan. Asuma understood for the first time what his nephew thought of him, and he was not at all accepting of the fact. He began training team 10 much more seriously from then on, which Hiruzen considered a good change.

He still smoked almost all the time, despite of her warnings to him that he was just damaging his lungs. But he just smoked away her worries.

Tsunade sighed. "I feel tired just by looking at it."

Hiruzen came around to sit on the chair in front of her desk. "You have no idea of how much it pleases my soul to see you sitting in the chair of Hokage."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at the comment. "Others might think that you're pleased because I took over from you, but I know that you're a sadist, sensei. You're just completely satisfied to see me buried in paperwork that we used to tease you about."

Hiruzen just kept a calm face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Smug bastard.

"So, what's reason you came here for, sensei?"

Hiruzen took a deep inhale from his ever-present pipe. "I heard Naruto and Jiraiya returned yesterday…with another Uzumaki no less."

Tsunade nodded as she signed another paper. "Uzumaki Haruto."

"What do you think about him?"

Just as Tsunade was about to say something, the door to her office banged three times. "Hokage-sama!"

Both former and current hokage blinked. That was Temari's voice, and it sounded urgent and desperate. "Come in!"

As soon as she gave the order, the door slammed open and Temari almost rushed in, an expression of barely-kept-in-check panic on her face. "What is it Temari?"

"Tsunade-sama, it's Gaara! He's been taken by the Akatsuki!"

Both of the Hokages' eyes widened at the information. The mercenary organization chose now of all times to make their move? Just as Naruto returned from his training?

It couldn't be a co-incidence….could it?

"How do you know?!"

"I was contacted through my pad!"

Tsunade took a moment to curse as to why she wasn't directly contacted before turning her attention to the matter at hand. She was well aware how close Gaara and Naruto were, and the latter would never forgive her if he wasn't put on the rescue team, even if he were a jinchuriki and sending him on the mission was basically holding him out on a silver platter for Akatsuki. Tsunade glanced at the clock and cursed. There were still fifteen minutes before Naruto's team was supposed to report for a mission, but she had no choice. They were already out of time.

"Tora! Karasu! Nezumi!"

ANBU with masks of cat, crow and rat respectively, appeared behind Temari, kneeling before Tsunade.

"Hai, Hokage-sama?"

"Fetch Hatake Kakashi, Haruno Sakura and Uzumaki Naruto immediately! They are to be here within five minutes!"

"Understood, hokage-sama."

With that, they disappeared in a shunshin.

Hiruzen leveled a grave look at his student. "Tsunade, do you think it's wise to send Naruto on this mission, when he is exactly what the Akatsuki want?"

"Naruto beat Jiraiya at his best, and took out Kakashi without a problem, sensei. On top of that, he's mastered the Hiraishin. At this point, he might very well be the strongest ninja in the village. He can take care of himself," Tsunade almost snapped at Hiruzen.

Hiruzen gave a tired sigh. "Let's hope you're right, Tsunade."

XXXXXXX

Less than five minutes later, team 7 stood in front of her, standing at attention. Tsunade looked at each member with a sharp and steady gaze. "Team 7…..a few hours ago in Suna, word came to us through Temari's pad that the Kazekage was taken by two Akatsuki members."

Hiruzen carefully observed the reactions to the revelation. Sakura was the one who showed the most shock, followed by sadness from Temari due to the reminder. Kakashi and Naruto showed the least amount of reaction.

Kakashi's eye narrowed, as it always did whenever a particularly difficult mission was assigned to him. He would try to figure out every possible way the mission could be carried out, and every possible consequence should the mission fail. He was very good at that.

Naruto's expression didn't change in the slightest, but is fists tightened ever so slightly. Hiruzen mentally approved, for as much as he loathed Danzo's ways, he was right in the sense that emotions got in the way of a mission. He would have understood if Naruto got angry, or went into shock, but to have such a tight control on his emotions…..

Jiraiya was one hell of a teacher.

Tsunade continued speaking. "….therefore, you are to exercise extreme caution, and do everything in your power to get the Kazekage back. Failure is detrimental for both the nations. Is that clear?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

"Dismissed!"

XXXXXXX

"How the hell did the attack succeed when Suna was expecting it?" Naruto snapped, matching his stride with Temari.

"Gaara informed me that Suna took yours and Jiraiya-sama's warnings seriously Naruto!" Temari insisted with a glare. "I don't know how, but they caught Gaara regardless. They are no joke, like you told us."

"S-rank heavyweights," Naruto sighed. "Don't worry Temari, we will get your brother back, by any means necessary."

"You've never broken a promise, Naruto. I hope this mission doesn't change that," Temari muttered worriedly.

She might have been upset at him last night, but having been reminded what was at stake now, being upset for not remaining in touch with her during training seemed like a petty tantrum that a child would throw. Not a jonin.

They travelled as fast as they could, and when the night arrived, they didn't take a rest. Lack of sight wasn't a problem, for their path was illuminated by the moonlight.

"Naruto….."

Naruto turned his head back slightly, to show that he was listening. "What is it, Sakura?"

"What would happen to Gaara, if his bijuu were to be removed?"

Naruto's expression went from neutral to grave, and Temari had a bad feeling about what he was going to say. "We have to be realistic here, Sakura. We have to assume the worst-case scenario, which in this mission is, that Gaara will have his bijuu removed. In fact, they've already begun the process by now, most probably."

Sakura gasped, and Temari looked even more crestfallen. "Our bijuu were sealed into us from birth, as is the case with most of our kind. There are exceptions, but I'll not go into details for that. Our bodies and chakra have been adjusting right from the beginning, to sustain both of us. Removal of a bijuu would destroy the chakra network completely. It's like ripping our hearts out of our bodies. The result of that is, most certainly, death. Almost immediately."

Temari was now gripped by fear, imagining Gaara's lifeless body in front of her. Like a whiplash, it hit her that that was the fate that awaited her husband, should he get caught. But that was a small possibility, and she tried not to think about it.

"Almost immediately?!"

Sakura's exclamation knocked her out of her musings, as she concentrated on Naruto's answer. "There are exceptions, of course." That raised Temari's hopes a little. "Kyuubi's first jinchuriki, Uzumaki Mito, lived for three more years before dying in her sleep. She was a hundred and thirteen when the new jinchuriki was chosen."

Kakashi spoke up for the first time. "Not surprising, considering the Uzumaki clan is well known for their longevity and potent life force."

"So if Naruto were in Gaara's place, would he…"

Temari dare not finish the sentence. Surprisingly, Naruto smirked. "As if I would allow myself to be in that situation." Then his face turned somber, "On the off chance, if I do get in that situation….I'm not sure whether I would survive or not."

"But you are Uzumaki!"

"I'm half-Uzumaki. There is a world of difference in that."

"One more day before we reach the desert," Temari said quietly.

"But I don't recall telling you about my secret, Sakura," Naruto curiously inquired.

Sakura swallowed before answering. "Tsunade-sama told me about your confrontation with Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. They're both involved with Akatsuki….but why are they taking the bijuu?"

Naruto was impressed by the depth of her question, but didn't let it show. "At this point, only the Akatsuki know that. They started off with the Ichibi, but whether that says something about the order they are gathering the bijuu in, I'm not sure. One can only imagine that they are up to no good if they're after all of them. Whatever the end result is…it would have catastrophic consequences on the world."

With that, they once again descended into silence. Naruto wondered if they would be able to succeed. He had not revealed the entirety of the worst-case scenario. More like, the result of it. He wouldn't be surprised if Kakashi was the only one who picked up on the fact.

They would be bringing back Gaara's dead body, and that thought filled him with rage.

Night slowly became morning, and the dawn's light made itself visible over the top of the trees. Naruto finally spotted the end of the tree line, and jumped to the ground, followed by others.

He looked at Temari, who nodded. "I'll take it from here."

With that, they began traveling the sands. Naruto had to admit, the desert was annoyingly hot. If his clothes did not have the seals for keeping him cool, he would have been sweating by now. Now that he thought about it, how the hell was Kakashi not cooking in his mask?

Naruto shook those thoughts away. The mysteries of Kakashi's mask were beyond anyone's understanding except the man himself.

Sakura had been thinking hard about the mission they had departed on. From what Tsunade-sama had told her, and Naruto had confirmed for her, Akatsuki were after the bijuu inside the jinchuriki. But that meant…..

"Why did Tsunade-sama allow you to come, Naruto?! You are exactly what they are after!" Sakura hissed with a fierce glare.

"And why should jinchuriki be forced on the sidelines?! It is their right to decide whether they want to remain on the sidelines, or on the frontlines!" Temari retorted, taking offence on behalf of Gaara and Naruto.

"Let's save the debate for the after-mission dinner," Naruto coolly suggested, but his eyes held a warning glint.

Now is not the time.

Sakura and Temari wisely took the hint and fell silent. They kept traveling for two more hours before the gates of Suna came to view.

Temari did not even greet the guards, running straight inside the village.

"Temari-san, Kankuro was poisoned….!" The guard ninja shouted to their backs.

Temari stumbled only briefly, before increasing her pace to the main tower. Sakura came up to her side, "Take me to him quickly! I'm a medical specialist!"

Temari gave a stiff nodded and they both raced forwards, with Naruto and Kakashi following behind. They were the last two to arrive in the room, two minutes after Temari and Sakura. Naruto took stock of the people present in the room within seconds.

There were a few iryo-ninja, and elderly man who Naruto did not know, Kankuro lying on the bed and an old woman whose hair was in a bun, and Baki.

Just as they entered the room, the elderly couple turned towards them, and he saw recognition flash in her eyes. Interestingly, it wasn't aimed at him, but rather at his silver-haired sensei.

Naruto raised in eyebrow in perplexation when the woman literally snarled. "Konoha no Shiroi Kiba!" (The White Fang of Konoha)

"Eh?" Kakashi's thoughts halted for a second, not used to being confused for his father for such a long time after his death.

The woman shot forward with speed that was unbecoming for someone of her age, but Naruto immediately reacted. He easily grabbed her fist,- a surprisingly heavy punch, he noted- blocked her foot with his knee and caught her other fist. With that taken care of, he lightly pushed her back.

She skidded back and stood up, shockingly not winded at all. The room was silent as everyone watched them. Naruto dusted off his pants and regarded her with slight annoyance. "Take a good look, elder. This is Hatake Kakashi, not Hatake Sakumo."

But like every old person that thinks themselves wise, she casually brushed aside his statement. "Don't mock me! I'll get my revenge for my son today!"

Looks like Sakumo-san killed her son in the war, and now she wants revenge, he deduced, shifting his feet slightly upon seeing her advance.

But the woman was stopped by the elder man. "Nee-chan, he's right. There is a resemblance, yes, but he is not Hatake Sakumo."

"Huh…." The woman muttered, eyes narrowing and straining to look. Then, as if a switch was flipped, she suddenly started laughing. "Oh! I was just playing stupid! Hahahahaha!"

Kakashi sighed in relief, not quite sure what he would have done if he had to fight an elder of Suna. Naruto on the other hand, was distinctly unimpressed by her antics. "We've got a life and death situation on our hands, and you're playing around? I wonder if we should be concerned about your order of priorities are, elder."

There was dead silence in the room at Naruto's statement, with Temari giving him a sharp look. The elder man gave an inscrutable look to him, after which he labeled an annoyed look at his sister, who turned her head to the side and muttered out an apology.

Naruto got the feeling that the old man approved of him.

Sakura brought the room back to business and proceeded to removing the poison directly from Kankuro. Temari sank against a wall in relief, "Thank god."

"God isn't here. I'll take that thanks," Naruto quipped as he sat down beside her.

"Oh shut up," she grumbled.

From then on, Naruto kept an ear out for the conversations happening around the room. There was Sakura talking to the iryo-nin about what they should keep an eye out for, Chiyo baa-san talking to her about medicines, Baki and Kakashi talking about a fight between Kankuro and a puppeteer named Sasori.

That name seems somewhat familiar, Naruto mused, taking out his bingo book. Flipping through the pages, he found what he was looking for.

Sasori of the red sands, a puppeteer who left Suna eighteen years ago. A genius of puppets, specializing in poison. And apparently, Chiyo's grandson.

No doubt, we'll meet this guy on this mission.

Kankuro said something about a piece of cloth, causing Temari to shoot up from her position and hover over him worriedly. So his brother-in-law managed to snatch a piece of cloth from Sasori in case they needed to track him?

Smart guy.

Kankuro gave a small smile at the sight of his sister, before looking around the room. His smile widened when he spotted Naruto against the wall, flipping through a bingo book. "Come to rescue your brother, eh Naruto?"

Naruto glanced up from his book, giving a smile and a silent nod.

Kakashi gave a sharp nod to Baki, clutching the cloth in his hands. "We'll find them. My pack just needs to smell this."

"Allow me, Kakashi."

Kakashi and Baki turned to Naruto, who flipped his book shut and walked towards them. "Allow me to use my foxes. They've been complaining lately that I don't give them enough work to do."

Kakashi smirked under his mask. "You should be taking better care of them, you know."

"I don't want to hear that from you of all people," was the retort.

Naruto bit his thumb and slammed his palm on the ground. "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

There was a flash of smoke, and when it cleared, six foxes of various colors were crouched before him. This was the primary tracking squad of the kitsune. The one crouched in front of all the foxes, a fox whose fur was as black as the night and a white dipped-in tail end, spoke up. This was Toshi, Raiden's elder brother and a close friend of Naruto's. "It's been a while, Naruto."

Naruto nodded sympathetically. "I know, but I need you right now. Track this guy for me please?"

All the foxes came around the hand and sniffed eagerly at the cloth. Toshi finished sniffing, and gave the order. "Alright. Scatter!"

The foxes immediately vanished from sight, with only Toshi remaining behind. "We'll contact you as soon as we find him."

With that, he too vanished from sight.

They only had to wait a few hours before one of the foxes came back. Its fur was a regular orange, and there was a sense of satisfaction on its features. "Naruto-sama! I found them!"

After pointing out on a map where the Akatsuki were holed up, Naruto smiled and patted the fox's head. "Well done, Tenka. You can go-"

"Wait Naruto!"

Tenka and Naruto turned to Kakashi, who walked towards them. "Would you mind if I send you out on one more task?"

In answer, Tenka just looked at Naruto. Naruto just rolled his eyes and took out a storage scroll from one of his pockets, unsealed a piece of meat and tossed it to Tenka. The fox quickly ate it up and turned to Kakashi, "What's it?"

After explaining to Tenka where he needed to go, the fox immediately took off. Naruto stood up as well. "We should depart immediately, Kakashi. We know where they are, we know where Gaara is, and we're going to take him right from their grasp."

Kakashi nodded at the strategy. That was all they could do at this point. "I'll inform Sakura."

Within an hour, they left Suna. At first, it was a surprise to all of them that Chiyo baa-san was coming with them, and Temari was stationed back at Suna, according to Tsunade's orders.. Traveling swiftly, it only took them a few hours to enter Kawa no kuni.

"I don't like this, Kakashi," Naruto muttered. Kakashi moved so that he was side by side with Naruto. "They've gone far. I have no idea how long it takes to extract a bijuu, but it shouldn't be long considering it's only the Ichibi."

"You know of the tailed beasts?" Chiyo asked from behind.

"Who doesn't?" Naruto easily answered. Chiyo conceded his point. He wasn't going to tell her that he had one himself. Not when they'd just met, and he suspected the granny had a knocked off a few of her screws.

"I haven't kept in touch with news concerning the tailed beasts for quite a while. Last time I did, it was when I sealed Ichibi into Gaara."

She was taken aback when cold, azure eyes snapped back at her, as cold as chips of ice. There was a barely held back rage in them, but just when she thought he would snap at her, he turned back and focused ahead.

Just when he was about to speak to Kakashi, there was a flicker on his radar. He immediately stopped, holding up a fist. The others stopped right with him, posture alert. Naruto scanned the surroundings with a keen eye, all senses on high alert.

"What is it Naruto?" Kakashi asked.

Naruto's brow furrowed. "It was a brief flicker, but I can't sense anymore. Whatever it was, or is, doesn't seem to want to engage."

Did you catch that Kurama?

I did, but like you, I can't sense it anymore.

Then it's not worth wasting time on.

Naruto motioned for them to move again. It was when they had only went a few miles when Naruto sensed something again.

"Someone is ahead of us, one mile," Naruto informed everyone. Chiyo was impressed by the young man. While being a jonin, the senior most ninja usually has the authority on the mission. But Hatake Kakashi seemed to have no problems with Naruto leading this mission. The blonde seemed to be in his element as he led without hesitation.

Soon enough, they broke through the tree line and came face to face with….

"Uchiha Itachi," Kakashi breathed out, and Naruto saw Sakura instantly freeze in shock.

There was no mistaking it. Slashed headband, black cloak with red clouds, tear troughs on face and the distinctive red eyes of the sharingan. The clearing was silent as Itachi most likely analyzed everything he could about them, trying to assess weaknesses.

"It's been a while Kakashi-san, Naruto-kun." Itachi greeted them in a quiet, polite voice.

"It has, hasn't it Itachi-san? Last time I saw you, I was running circles around you and your partner," Naruto replied.

"You have grown quite strong I see, Naruto-kun," Itachi complimented in a quiet voice, not acknowledging the taunt.

Itachi said nothing else, simply staring with his sharingan into Naruto's azures. Naruto just averted his eyes and focused on Itachi's forehead. He wasn't afraid of being caught in a genjutsu. Regular genjutsu was a child's play for him, and he had Kurama to break him out of sharingan genjutsu. He silently released all his gravity seals.

"Don't look into his eyes! It's dangerous!" Kakashi ordered tersely.

"Then it's fortunate that there are four of us," Chiyo spoke. "Fighting a Sharingan user alone is often a recipe for disaster, but since we outnumber him, we can attack from multiple directions and prevent him from using his Sharingan against more than one of us. Also, if we get caught in any of his Genjutsu, the others can break it." That was the strategy that was developed long ago for combat situations against an Uchiha.

"Normally, that would work, but Itachi has the Mangekyo Sharingan. The Genjutsu cast by the Mangekyo run their full duration in an instant. The victim will feel the full effects of the illusion, as if 3 three days have passed. Don't look him in the eyes." Kakashi added, remembering far too well what it felt like to be stabbed with a sword for what felt like a small eternity.

"As one would expect from you, Kakashi-san. You understood all that after being affected only once."

"That's not the only thing that I've understood," Kakashi continued, staring Itachi fearlessly. "After you used that genjutsu on me, you were considerably tired and tried to leave as soon as possible."

Itachi said nothing to refute Kakashi's statements, which made Naruto wonder just how much Kakashi knew about Itachi's eyes.

"Apart from using a lot of chakra, your eyes seem to also carry a risk with every usage." Kakashi uncovered his headband slowly, revealing his own sharingan.

Itachi looked as blank as ever, not reacting in the slightest. "Well analyzed, Kakashi-san."

"Not only that, but…tell me this…how bad has your eyesight gotten?"

Kakashi must have said something significant, because for the second time since Naruto had seen the man, Itachi was visibly startled. So much that he closed his eyes for a moment to settle himself on the inside. When he opened his eyes, they were back to being as blank as a wall.

There was a moment where Kakashi and Itachi simply stared at each other. Naruto understood that Itachi must have attempted to catch Kakashi in a genjutsu once more. Then Itachi looked down, and back at Kakashi.

"You….."

Kakashi's response was quite chirpy, given the tense situation. "Not this time Itachi." Then in a quieter voice, he told Naruto, "Take this one, Naruto. I'll cover you."

"Got it."

Itachi slowly pointed a finger at Naruto, not averting his gaze from Kakashi at all. "It's time for you to come with me, Naruto-kun."

Naruto simply raised an eyebrow as he snapped the genjutsu before it could take hold on him. His chakra density and capacity had only increased in three years, and Itachi's considerably less potent chakra had no chance of catching him in one. "Genjutsu without seals? You're as good as they say."

With that, everyone snapped into action. Naruto dashed forward, engaging Itachi in taijutsu. It immediately became evident just how huge the difference was between Itachi and the Sasuke he fought three years ago. Itachi had no problem whatsoever in predicting his moves, easily keeping up with them.

Itachi showed his mastery of switching from hand-to-hand to weapons, as a kunai appeared in his hand and he tried to slash Naruto with it. Naruto countered with his own kunai, and they once again locked themselves in a fight.

It became evident to Itachi however, after Naruto's kunai came too close to his eyes more than once, that taijutsu was not the way to go in a fight against Naruto. He jumped back, putting Sakura in a genjutsu and then speeding through seals.

"Katon: Hosenka no jutsu!" (Fire style: Phoenix fire technique)

A multitude of fireballs came towards them, scattering from Itachi's mouth. Kakashi jumped back to avoid them, while Naruto took a direct approach. Taking advantage of his faster perception, he jumped out of the field of the fireballs and then straight at Itachi, all in two flash steps.

It seemed Itachi wasn't expecting that and was not in a position to dodge, for his foot caught Itachi in his side, sending him flying back. Itachi nimbly flipped in the air to make a perfect landing on the ground.

Naruto didn't push his assault, choosing to stand his ground. He now had a sure shot at killing Itachi, but if he and Kakashi pushed him a bit more, maybe they could learn more about the sharingan's techniques, in case he went up against Sasuke in a fight in the future. He had been informed that there was a higher stage of sharingan, and wondered what abilities did that give to Itachi.

Kakashi jumped to his side. "Nice one."

"Thanks."

But no more time was given for talking, for Itachi sent another jutsu their way.

"Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu!"

A giant fireball made its way right at them, but Naruto didn't move out of the way. Instead, he performed to hand seals. In his training trip, he had created a jutsu just for this situation. Bird- dog:-

Fuuton: Piasu-f u yari! (Wind style: Piercing wind spear)

A thin, sharp burst of wind escaped his mouth in a straight line, the tip shaped into a spear. To Kakashi's shock, as soon as Naruto's jutsu collided with the fireball, they didn't clash. The wind jutsu went straight through the core of the fireball, dispersing it completely. A fire like gate formed for the briefest of moments as the fireball dispersed, and the wind spear headed straight for Itachi, who was not expecting his fireball to be dispersed just like that.

His moment of confusion cost him the fight, as the spear pierced right through the center of his chest, opening up a thin hole from which blood leaked through. But Itachi had already left the body, the instant when the wind spear pierced the heart.

XXXXXXX

Itachi's hologram opened its eyes in the cave where the Ichibi was being extracted, seeing that Kisame had also been defeated a short while ago.

Itachi frowned as he thought of the battle he had just lost. He had only a vague idea how that wind technique dispersed his fireball like that. Wind was supposed to be weak against fire, and could only beat fire if it were in an overwhelming amount. But Naruto's jutsu was very thing, supposed to pierce. Focused on efficiency rather than power. He supposed that the wind in that jutsu was thin enough to pierce the fireball at its core, thereby dispersing it, but that was just a theory.

Had that been a real battle, Itachi doubted he would have been able to use Susanoo in time. Looking at the bingo book entry was one thing, experiencing it was a whole different one.

Even without Hiraishin, Naruto had become a very dangerous man.

"Looks like me and my man Sasori will be capturing the Kyuubi jinchuriki, un," Deidara said, pleased that he would get one up on Itachi.

"Itachi, what can you tell us about the Kyuubi no jinchuriki?" Sasori asked in Hiruko's gravelly voice.

Itachi stayed silent, thinking of what to say. On one hand, he wouldn't reveal Naruto's techniques, because he didn't know them himself. Naruto hadn't used Hiraishin in the battle even once, and not many people kept bingo books with them, even majority members of the Akatsuki. People like Deidara and Hidan were fools, not bothering to keep themselves up to date with the happenings of the ninja world. He would keep it that way. On the other hand, he needed to give them something.

"Answer him Itachi." Pain commanded, his voice distorted in the hologram.

"He's the blonde one," Itachi said in a monotone, revealing nothing of importance and cut his connection. He could always use the excuse that his illness was acting up.

XXXXXXX

"I'm not entirely surprised. That was way too easy," Naruto mumbled, looking at the corpse of a Suna shinobi.

"Now I know what happened to Yuura," Chiyo muttered.

Naruto didn't bother to apologize like Kakashi did. There was no doubt in his mind that this Suna shinobi was dead long before Naruto killed him. Again.

That, and he was most likely a spy. A loose end that the Akatsuki tied up.

That's a good point. But Naruto didn't say that out loud, in case he was wrong.

"Even if that wasn't Itachi, we were beaten," Kakashi sighed. "It was a delaying tactic, also meant to gather info on us."

"Indeed. I would say….they've already started the extraction. Perhaps…..they wish to use Shukaku to create a new jinchuriki?" Chiyo speculated.

"That's a negative," Naruto instantly answered, standing up from where he was inspecting the corpse for any clues. "They spent a lot of time and effort to extract the bijuu from the jinchuriki. I really don't think they're gonna create a new one, if their primary purpose was extraction."

"That could be true….. in any case, let's put a pin on that theory for now. We have to hurry," Kakashi ordered, moving into the trees once more.

As they moved through the trees, Chiyo once more thought deeply about her current companions.

She had been sure that when Kankuro was poisoned, there would be no one except Tsunade who could cure him. Sasori was a rare genius when it came to poisons, and any poison he made was always kept for his personal use and no one else's. That's why Suna had no counter against the former sand puppeteer's specialty. Then the pink haired kunoichi's efforts, who turned out to be Tsunade's apprentice, were invaluable in saving Kankuro's life.

"Naruto-kun?"

Naruto turned his head back slightly, to show he was listening. "What?"

Chiyo had a feeling that he was somewhat upset with her, but decided not to bring it up. "Why did Konoha send such a valuable team for Kazekage-sama's retrieval? Konoha's best jonin, son of the Yondaime Hokage and Godaime Hokage's apprentice…seems a bit overkill."

Naruto turned his head back, but she could hear a smirk in his voice. "Let me guess, you expected some nameless, expendable ninjas, didn't you?"

The silence was his answer. "It would be better if you didn't put so much importance in titles, baa-san. Skill is what ultimately counts. Besides, I think the rescue of someone as important as the Kazekage warrants the deployment of the most skilled team."

Chiyo wasn't sure if she agreed with his first statement, but he was correct with his last. But still…

"Why such a high profile team? In my time-"

"Your time is over, baa-san. Times are ever changing, and our generation is different from all the previous ones. Because we'll do something none of the previous generations were able to. Us coming on this mission is a sign of trust, that Konoha trusts Suna. You may think that in your time, even if villages were allies, they never really trusted each other. But like I said, times are changing, and you have to keep up," Naruto gave a succinct answer, and hoped she wouldn't ask any more questions.

Chiyo was now starting to see why Temari admired him so much. His steadfast belief in himself, that he could change everything about the ninja world and shatter all existing beliefs, was worth respecting. When the match was first decided, Chiyo believed that Temari would never be happy in Konoha. That her every dream would be crushed by the choice she was being forced to make.

She was wrong.

Ever since Temari started visiting recently, she had talked about her life in Konoha. And Chiyo had to admit, she had never seen Temari talk about someone with so much love and admiration. Temari had always been a girl who had a tough personality, so her husband had to be something else if he could make her talk like that.