8. The Iwa Shinobi

"Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I am the Iwa jonin in charge of these genin. My name is Han."

Introductions were made quickly for the new figure, Han. The Konoha shinobi noticed that the man didn't seem to really care about their names, but they continued to introduce themselves. He waited patiently for them to finish before he started to speak.

"Well, with that taken care of, let's get down to business." Han declared as he pulled out a scroll and showed it to the group. "As you can see, we are the team assigned to escort the merchant, Yen, back to his home."

"Yes, I can see." Anko nodded. The woman, usually joking around and relaxed, was uncharacteristically serious and uneasy when speaking to the Iwa Jonin. "Our mission was to ensure our client's safety while we deliver him to you and your team. We can hand him over to your care, now, and complete the mission."

Naruto liked the sound of that. 'First C-Rank done dattebayo! That's one step closer to Hokage!' Other than his general excitement, he was also excited to leave the presence of the Iwa shinobi. He would miss Yen, but he'd be glad to get away from Iwa.

"Before you leave, though, I would like to make a request to you and your team." Han spoke up again.

Naruto's happiness faded away, replaced with confusion. His teammates looked at the man with similar confusion, wondering what the armor-clad shinobi could be wanting to request. Noticing their stares, he pointed to the sky. The sun was starting to set and it was starting to get darker.

"It's going to be night soon, and it would be unwise to travel late at night in the dark. Dangers lurk around, and when you are escorting someone, you want to make sure the client is always protected. We are going to camp here and I would like to request you all help in looking after Yen-San for this one night. After all, he is your client as well." Han informed the group.

His words caused an immediate negative reaction.

"No way!" Roto exclaimed angrily.

"Surely you are joking Han-Sensei! We can't stay with Konoha shinobi!" Risho shouted, just as angry as his teammate.

Naruto was about to shout back and defend his village but his words died on his tongue as Han started to speak again.

"I don't joke around. Are you two questioning my authority?" He asked the two male genin, turning his eyes towards them. His normal bitter, bored tone of voice picked up a hint of annoyance.

Roto flinched under his sensei's gaze and shook his head nervously. Risho, however, didn't appear to be effected by his sensei's questioning.

"No, I feel you are being rational as always sensei. However, they are Konoha! We can't trust them to watch over the merchant for longer than they have to! I also wouldn't put it past them to kill him now and then pin the blame on us!" He explained loudly.

'Between the four Iwa ninja, I wonder which one hates Konoha most.' Shikamaru thought sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

"Risho be quiet!" Han ordered.

The sword-wielding boy seemed to finally accept his sensei's words. He remained quiet, only silently glaring at the Konoha ninja.

Han turned his head and faced Kurotsuchi, giving her a look that asked her if she had any complains. The kunoichi shook her head.

"Well, my team has no complaints with this arrangement. Is this fine with you?" He asked Anko.

"Yes it is! It makes sense after all and we would like to make sure Yen is okay." Anko stated. She then turned her attention to her students. "This is okay with you guys, right?"

Hinata nodded in affirmation. Shikamaru sighed before doing the same.

"It does sensei..." Naruto answered begrudgingly for himself.

"Then it's decided. Good." Han noted in an uncaring tone, as if he truly didn't care that his proposal was just accepted. "We've already set up camp, so you can all stay with us. We will lead you there. Let's go."

With those words, the jonin started to walk into the nearby forest, not even waiting for the group to follow him. Silence filled the air as the ninja watched him leave until Korotsuchi cleared her throat to grab everyone's attention.

"Well, we all heard what Han-Sensei said. Let's head on over to the camp!" She spoke up.

The remaining members of the group nodded at the kunoichi's words and proceeded to follow the armor-wearing jonin to the camp. During the walk, Risho and Roto would glare at the Konoha ninja. Naruto noticed this and returned their glares with his own. Kurotsuchi seemed to be focused on getting to camp, but would occasionally turn her head to glance at Naruto every few seconds. Hinata looked back and forth between everyone present, visibly bothered by the hostility and trying to think of a way to help quell it. Shikamaru noticed all the eyes and couldn't help but inwardly groan in frustration at all the tension around him.

'I'm starting to think I may have made a mistake with requesting this mission.' Yen thought to himself. The merchant was terrified as he walked quietly. He was unused to the intense tension and hostility in the air. 'I knew Konoha and Iwa weren't on the best of terms, but I thought things were getting better. I guess not...'

'Holy shit! There's got to be some way to relieve some of this tension...' Anko thought, disturbed as well by the uncomfortable silence.

'Then again, I really shouldn't care about that. That's expected whenever Konoha and Iwa interact nowadays. What I should think about is what I didn't expect, like why Yuge no Han is here?' Anko's thoughts turned back to the Iwa jonin present. The tokubetsu jonin continued to ponder why the man was here and what actions she would have to take due to his presence.

Silenced reigned over the walk...

The walk, while short in length, was long and uncomfortable for everyone. The tension seemed to intensify with each step.

Eventually, though, the shinobi and Yen reached a simple campsight. A tent was set up and a fire was already lit. They had arrived at the Iwa camp, but only one thing was missing...

"Hey, if this is your camp, then where is your sensei?" Shikamaru questioned the Iwa shinobi.

"Oh yeah, sensei does that. He doesn't spend much time at camp whenever we set it up. He prefers to spend most of his time alone." Kurotsuchi explained. She had a frown on her face, seemingly bothered by her sensei's aloof attitude.

"Han-Sensei isn't much of a people person." Roto added with a shiver.

"Why is that?" Yen asked curiously, trying to learn a few things about this new group he would be traveling with.

"He has his reasons for his behavior." Risho replied. It was the first time his voice wasn't filled with hate and disgust. It was rather deep and seemed to have a sad undertone to it.

Silence filled the group once again. Luckily for everyone, though, that Kurotsuchi decided to try and relieve the tension.

"So, everyone make themselves at home here. We can talk about some chores for all of us to do and then get started on cooking up something for all of us to eat. That sound good to everybody?" She asked.

Everyone nodded and walked over to the fire to sit down and discuss the plan for their night. As they walked over, Risho noticed something about the Konoha shinobi.

"Not that I overly care, but where's your sensei?" He asked them.

"Hmm?" Naruto mumbled in confusion as he and his teammates turned around.

Like Risho stated, Anko was not in sight. She had disappeared from the campsite.

"Strange. She walked with us to camp." Shikamaru noted. "Guess she just vanished."

"Hmph! Lazy senseis wanting the genin to do work." Naruto mumbled in frustration.

Roto couldn't hold back a laugh at the blonde's words. "Yep, leave it all to the genin..." Naruto temporarily forgot about his hatred for Iwa and gave his fellow genin a thumbs up and a nod in agreement.

"It doesn't matter where our senseis are! All that matters is that we look after the client and get preparations for the night done!" Kurotsuchi informed everyone, slightly annoyed. She was used to her sensei being aloof and not caring about camp, so she didn't really care if the Konoha sensei was the same way. "Now, for the tasks! Who wants to go out looking for more firewood with me? Cause we are probably going to need some more..."

The genin proceeded to discuss about the plans for the night and for the camp. The two jonin sensei continued to be missing in action...

"Finally! Found him!' Anko sighed in relief after finding her target. 'You'd think which such visible armor that he'd be easy to find.'

When Anko noticed that Han was not at the camp, she left to go find him on her own. The tokubetsu jonin was still concerned about his presence and felt that she should find him and observe him.

After a good few minutes of looking, she finally found the armor-wearing shinobi. To her surprise, he was sitting down on the ground preparing himself a cup of tea in a pot. 'Where the hell did the pot come from? I know he didn't have that when we were talking earlier!'

The woman continued to watch him as he prepared his tea, looking for any signs of suspicious behavior. The man appeared to not notice her. Only when he finished his preparation of the tea did he address the woman.

"I know you are out there, Anko-San, so you don't have to keep hiding." Han spoke aloud.

Anko cursed under her breath as she got out of her hiding spot. She walked up to the Iwa jonin and faced him.

"Is there any reason you went off on your own after we set up camp?" She asked him curiously.

"I'm not a fan of big groups." The armor wearing shinobi replied simply as he moved the cloth covering his mouth down and took a sip of the cup of tea in his hands.

Anko took the time to actually notice the tea. Her eyes widened when she saw the amount of steam pouring out of it. 'Just how hot is that? Is that even possible?'

"W-Well, why suggest the idea of camping together then?" The tokubetsu jonin questioned, slightly shaking her head as she turned from the blazing hot tea to the man drinking it.

"It was simply a practical thought. Best way to watch over the client and make sure he is protected." He replied back after taking another sip.

Silence filled the air as the two senseis stared at each other. Han studied the girl with critical eyes. Anko mentally cursed under his gaze, feeling awkward by the silence. She had a lot she wanted to find out from the man and she was having a hard time talking to him for some reason.

'I'm usually more calm than this! What the hell is going on Anko?' She shouted inwardly.

"You obviously have something you want to say or ask me, so go ahead. There must be some reason you were observing me so diligently after all." Han informed her as he sat his tea cup down to pay full attention to the woman.

"I was just curious about a things. That's all." Anko informed him, finally picking up some nerve. "After all, I actually thought you weren't an Iwa shinobi anymore. So I do find it a tad suspicious that you are now a jonin sensei in charge of a mission involving Konoha."

"Oh?" The Iwa jonin now seemed bored with the conversation, as he picked up his tea cup and started to drink again.

"Well, according to Konoha and other villages' information, you vanished after the Third Shinobi World War. No one has seen or heard from you since. That should be impossible, considering the reputation you gathered. Rumors claim that you defected." The woman explained. "The suspicions, I feel, are justified.

"Well, then, you should inform your Hokage to fire his spies in Iwa, as I am still a shinobi there." He replied in the same bored and distant tone. "Not like Iwa truly wants me as one of their shinobi though."

Anko looked at the man with confusion, not fully understanding. Han seemed to notice her confusion and decided to elaborate.

"I'm sure you know of my involvement in the Third Shinobi World War." He stated. "Add that to my status as the Gobi jinchuuriki, and you have a village that wants nothing more than to see me die on a suicide mission."

Anko nodded in understanding, a frown creeping on her face. Han was an infamous ninja from Iwa, and therefore, had been studied by Konoha shinobi. She knew the details of his role in the Third Shinobi World War, as well as his status as the current Gobi jinchuuriki, and felt saddened that he was still hated years after everything. The snake summoner couldn't help but relate.

Han's eyes narrowed on her, as he started to understand her line of thinking. "Don't pity me: I'm not someone who needs it. We are from opposing villages anyway; why not you pity your blonde student instead?"

The purple haired woman's eyes narrowed in response. "So, you know of his status as well?"

He let out a a humorless laugh in response. "Of course I do. I can sense the chakra of his biju even from here. Iwa also never believed the lies Konoha made up about the Kyuubi's death. This conversation just merely confirms it. He's the Kyuubi jinchuuriki."

Han took one more sip of his tea before he spoke again. "Even if we factored all of that out, I can see the loneliness in his eyes. His eyes are filled with the same depression and mistreatment that all jinchuuriki possess." The armor wearing shinobi's voice took a slight change. Disappointment was evident in it. "From what I heard of your village, I thought Konoha would treat its jinchuuriki better. But I guess I shouldn't have expected anything different. You humans are too ignorant to see the difference from a beast and its container."

"You're human too. And so is he!" Anko informed him, confused about the man's words.

"No, I am a 'jinchuuriki'. Not an ignorant human nor a 'demon' like your kind calls us." He told her sharply. "What of the boy? I wonder if he sees himself as a demon because of your village?"

"While not everyone likes the kid, he's not hated by all. I trust him, as does his teammates, and he's special to us. He's no demon and he certainly doesn't see himself as one!" Anko stated sharply. She didn't like the direction this conversation was going and wanted to put in to it.

"Really? Don't worry: it'll come. He's young. He's naive. He'll learn how this world works soon enough." Han replied just as sharply. "And you'll do nothing to help him. Not after future events happen that change your perception of him. After all, you are only human."

Anko glared at the man in front of her. She opened her mouth to rebuff his claims, but was interrupted as Han got up from his spot, picking up the tea pot and his cup.

"If this is all we have to talk about, then I must say we are finished. I'm bored of this." He mentions, a strong sense of finality of his voice. "I'll go check up on our client. If you wish, go look for any threats to his safety. You can be on the look out for them now. I'll take up watch at night, so you can get sleep. Farewell Anko-San."

The man disappeared after speaking in a poof of smoke. Anko stared blankly at where the man was before she started to scowl.

"Well that conversation could have gone better." She huffed to herself. "Well whatever. He doesn't seem like he'll be a threat to this mission. He also shouldn't be too much of an issue, since he seems to have no hatred for Konoha...just humanity in general."

'Although, that itself does bother me. He really hates people.' Anko noted in her head. She inwardly shivered, remembering his cold, bored, distant tone of voice. 'And then I don't like where he was going with that Naruto part...'

Anko shook her head, clearing her thoughts. She decided it would be a good idea to do as Han suggested and search for any nearby enemies and maybe place some traps. The woman began her mission to ensure Yen's safety. Yet, in the back of her head, she couldn't help but still think of Han's words.

'...I really hope he and Naruto don't really talk much.'

The genin of Konoha and Iwa drafted a plan on activities for the camp. Hinata and Risho were to wait back at camp and watch over and protect Yen. Naruto and Roto were sent off into the forest to a nearby lake and see if they could catch any fish.

Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi decided to go into the forest and collect more firewood for the fire. The two genin were currently scanning the forest ground, looking for good wood to burn.

"Sorry about my teammates, by the way." Kurotsuchi apologized while she and Shikamaru were starting their search. "They are kind of unruly when Konoha is ever brought up."

Shikamaru raised his eyebrows at her sudden apology. "Don't worry about it. I'm sorry about my blonde friend as well. While we are talking about it, though, why do you not hate us as much? It seems the rest of your team wants nothing more than for all of us to die."

"Oh trust me, I'm not overly fond of Konoha myself! I won't deny it. Having said that, I don't have anything against you guys and I also realize that you guys are helping out with the mission." Kurotsuchi explaiend. "Besides, my teammates are more hateful than the common Iwa ninja."

"Oh?" The Nara questioned. This conversation was getting intriguing to him and he felt information about the Konoha-Iwa rivalry could only prove to be useful in the future.

"Well, yeah. Roto comes from a civilian family and they are the most hateful towards anything Konoha of all the people in Iwa. Funny, too, considering they don't even fight or deal with you people." The kunoichi noted with a scoff. "As for Risho, he comes from a clan that has much respect in Iwa as the Hyuga have in your village, so he's very prideful. And his clan had the highest number of deaths in the Third War, so he has a very deep hatred for Konoha because of that."

"So he has that, and probably a gigantic stick up his ass if his clan is anything like the Hyuga." Shikamaru noted sarcastically.

"That too!" Kurotsuchi agreed, actually laughing a little. Shikamaru couldn't help but notice the girl's laugh, but shrugged off the thoughts before they developed. "Anyway, mind if I ask about the blonde...Naruto right? He obviously dislikes Iwa more than you, your other teammate, and your sensei. Any particular reason why?"

Shikamaru noted she was doing the exact same thing that he did to her. Still, he didn't seem to care. 'Not like giving this info would actually affect us.'

"Naruto grew up an orphan, and the orphanage doesn't promote the best image of Iwa at all. After all, a good portion of kids in Konoha were orphaned in the last war by Iwa alone. Naruto's really sensitive about family, so the fact that your village orphaned the most Konoha kids doesn't sit well with him. That and the fact that he has more pride in Konoha than most ninja." Shikamaru explained his friend's strong feelings.

Kurotsuchi's eyebrows rose at this new information. 'I wonder...'

"He's an orphan huh? Well I assume his parents didn't die in the war, since our generation had us just after the war!" She noted.

"Probably not. Can't answer that question, though, because I don't know who his parents were." Shikamaru shrugged.

"Hmm, really?" She asked. 'If he was the his child, I'd assume he'd be celebrated as a son of a hero. The fact this his parents are unknown probably proves that he isn't his son. Still, he looks too much like him...'

Kurotsuchi proceeded to stop in their search for firewood and stand still in deep thought. Shikamaru noticed this and studied the kunoichi. After a few seconds, the boy felt himself get worried. 'Why would she be thinking hard about a comment like that? So Naruto's an orphan who doesn't know his parents: so? What relevance does that piece of info have?' The Nara failed to see how this warranted major thought, so he started to get worried that somehow the information was something he should have kept quiet. 'I don't know why she's thinking about it so hard, but I have to get her distracted!'

"So, why don't you tell me about yourself?" He asked suddenly.

The pink-eyed girl looked at the boy in surprise, having been interrupted from her thoughts. "Me? Why? What do you want to know?"

"Well, you seem to be the leader of your team when your sensei isn't around, so there's got to be something special about you. And I'm just curious." Shikamaru shrugged, trying to justify the questioning.

The black-haired girl thought to herself for a second if she actually wanted to share anything about herself. She took a look another look at Shikamaru, who was looking at her rather curiously. 'Eh, what the hell? I'm probably not even on the right path with my theory about the boy. For now, might as well enjoy a conversation with someone that isn't one of my idiotic teammates!'

"Well, I guess the first thing you should probably know is that I'm the granddaughter of Onoki, our Tsuchikage." She mentioned. The kunoichi giggled when she noticed the surprised look on Shikamaru's face. "You think that's surprising? Just you wait, cause I'll be the Tsuchikage soon myself. The old fart will retire soon because of his back and then I'll take the title. Give me five years tops!"

"You seem confident in your abilities." The Nara noted with a smirk.

"Course I am! The person who knows you best and can judge you best is yourself." Kurotsuchi explained. "What about you? You're a Nara aren't you? I assume you're some genius?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Probably, but I really don't want to get myself tested or anything. I'd rather spend my time relaxing and watching clouds."

"Really?" She questioned with a frown. "Guess that makes you a lazy ass."

The Nara groaned. 'Even the girl from Iwa? Ugh. Troublesome. Why does everyone call me that nowadays?'

The two genin continued their search for firewood, chatting with each other about themselves. What started as an attempt from Shikamaru to stall the girl actually turned out be a fun experience for the two.

It was good to know that bad relations between their villages couldn't stop the two from making a friend in each other.

"Ah! Come on!" Naruto whined as he pulled back his fishing line. His bait was still visible and no fish was caught.

"Come on. I knew Konoha shinobi sucked, but I didn't know this bad!" Roto laughed, still holding on to his fishing line.

When duties were assigned, Roto led Naruto to a nearby lake to see if they could catch some fish for dinner that night. They had only been out for about twenty minutes, and Naruto had failed to catch anything. This was a strong contrast to the Iwa shinobi to his right, who had already caught two fish in the time.

"Oh shut up! You're just lucky!" Naruto huffed, turning back to the lake and sending his fishing line back into the lake.

"Well then lady luck must really love me, because this seems more than coincidence." Roto noted with another laugh as he continued to stare at the lake.

A minute passed before Naruto started to feel a little tugging. The blonde immediately reacted with excitement as he started reeling in. He forgot about all of his past failures in the lake today and just imagined the delicious fish he was about to bring in to camp.

Said imagination disappeared the second Naruto pulled up his line. Not only was there no fish, but the bait was gone. A fish had eaten it and got away, leaving Naruto empty handed.

"Oh, come on!" He shouted, pounding his hand on the ground near the lake in frustration. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"Coming from an outside source, a lot of things." Roto replied. There was more venom and less humor in this statement.

Naruto prepared an argument back for the Iwa ninja but stopped when he noticed the boy's line tugging. The sunglasses-wearing shinobi began pulling in carefully. When he finished bringing his line up, he had found a large fish caught on it.

"Guess that makes number three. And it hasn't even been thirty minutes yet. Lucky day so far!" Roto laughed as he tossed the fish to the pile where his other caught fish were.

Naruto watched the Iwa shinobi prepare his fishing line once again with envy. 'Why am I having such a hard time and he isn't dattebayo?' A part of Naruto wanted to be jealous and fume that he was being shown up by an Iwa shinobi. Another part, however, was really wanting to catch some fish and bring some to his team. This part really wanted to learn what he was doing wrong. In the end, the latter part of his mind won.

"Hey...um...Roto." Naruto mumbled, looking down to the ground for a second. Roto turned to the Konoha shinobi and looked at him, annoyed at being disturbed. "Um...can you tell me what I'm doing wrong?"

The boy's request shocked the Iwa shinobi. The blonde, as Roto had seen him, had been stubborn, loud, annoying, and stupid all day so far. To see him asking for help was quite a surprise.

His first initial response was to deny the request, not wanting to assist a Konoha shinobi. Still, he knew that any fish that the other boy caught would only go to the dinner.

"...well, your main problem is you rush. You don't wait long enough, thinking you feel something, and you end up pulling out nothing. I also think you may do too much of an initial pull when you are reeling in the fish. I don't think you actually hook any fish, but you instead just startle it and cause it to get away. That's what I think your main problems are." Roto informed him. "Try it one more time and see."

Naruto nodded and did exactly what the Iwa shinobi told him to do. After getting bait on his line, Naruto tossed in his fishing line and waited, keeping his eyes on the line.

"Now, just wait. Give the fish some time to come over and get the bait." Roto continued to instruct.

Naruto nodded. "You seem to know a lot about fishing."

"I should. It's one of my favorite hobbies after all!" The sunglasses-wearing ninja mentioned.

"Really?" Naruto looked at him, curiously.

"Yup. Why do you think we are fishing instead of hunting for some animal? Cause I'm a fishing pro!" Roto laughed. He looked over at the lake fondly as he prepared his own fishing line. "My Mom and Dad would always take me fishing on some of the lakes near Iwa as a kid. We still go at least once a month. After all the time I've done it, I've picked up a love for it and I think I'm decent at it."

"Wow, that's pretty cool!" Naruto noted, surprised.

"Yup." The boy mentioned as he tossed in his fishing line after his preparations. He waited right next to Naruto for his own fish. For a moment, Roto seemed to forget Naruto was from Konoha, and started to talk personally. "You know, looking at a lake like this always makes me think. I always thought I was going to end up becoming a fisherman one day. I mean, I'm from a civilian family so I have no background as a shinobi in any way. My parents were shocked when I broke the news to them!"

"Why'd you become one then?" Naruto asked curiously. He, too, for a moment, forgot about Konoha and Iwa's feud. Right now, he was just curious about the boy next to him.

"Well, I love Iwa and I want to do my part for the village. The village has done so much for me and my family that I felt like I had to do something back for it, and what better way than defending it!" The boy explained. It was then he realized who he was talking to: a ninja from Konoha. His eyes got a lot harder as he stared at Naruto.

Naruto, however, didn't return the same hard glare. He actually gave him a smile and an understanding nod. "I'm the same way for Konoha. I understand. We just want our village to succeed. And you know, we can help our villages accomplish that dattebayo!"

For the second time in a row, Roto was stunned by something Naruto had said. He was about to respond to it, but was stopped as Naruto felt his fishing line tug.

"Hey, it's tugging!" He cheered.

"Be careful this time. Make sure you actually hook the thing in and reel it in." The boy instructed.

Naruto nodded and took careful note of the other boy's words. After he finally reeled in his fishing line, the blonde was surprised to see a large fish attached to the hook. The surprise soon turned to joy as he took the fish off and held it in his hands excitedly.

"Heh, look Roto! I caught one!" Naruto grinned, holding up his fish proudly.

"Not bad. Not bad...for a Konoha shinobi." He mumbled sarcastically. Truth be told, the boy was impressed by the fish's size. Still, he couldn't help but throw in a dig against Konoha.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, ready to defend his village.

The two boys continued to fish for another thirty minutes before turning back to camp with ten fish. During the time they spent, the two competed against each other and tried to outdo each other. They would make sarcastic and rude comments about each other and the other's village, but the venom in their comments seemed to have vanished. It was all in play and good fun this time. The two boys, perhaps, were on their way to putting the rivalry between Konoha and Iwa to the side...

Hinata had always been shy and introverted. In recent days she had been getting more talkative and open with the people around her, mostly thanks to Naruto, Shikamaru, and Anko, but she was still rather quiet.

Right now, Hinata was going beyond being 'rather quiet'. Risho and Yen were engaging in conversation similar to the ones she and her team had with the merchant on the first day of the mission. The Hyuuga Heiress had tried to enter the conversation herself a couple of times, but the Iwa shinobi would always interrupt her or ignore any point she made. He was actively ignoring her and trying to keep Yen away from talking with her.

"So Risho-Sama, why don't you tell me a little about your clan? I think I've heard the name before." Yen asked, trying to learn as much as he could about the Iwa shinobi he would be traveling with.

Risho's eyes seemed to have lit up with pride as he started to speak. "I come from the Kurogane Clan, one of the three elite clans of Iwagakure. My clan is held in high regard by all shinobi thanks to our kekkei genkai: the Iron Release. Our abilities have made members of my clan the main force of Iwa's shinobi forces..."

Hinata sighed as she listened in. Risho continued to go on and on about his clan and how 'special' and 'elite' they were. He went in to great detail on the clan head and the well-known members of the clan, and answering questions that Yen hadn't even asked. All of this was told in a very prideful tone of voice. The sad part to Hinata, however, was that this wasn't the first time she dealt with someone like this.

'He reminds me of some of the other main branch members in my clan...' The Hyuga heiress realized with a groan. 'I seriously hope I don't sound like this whenever someone asks me about my clan...'

"You know, your clan reminds me of the Hyuuga Clan that Hinata's from. They sound just as powerful and respected!" Yen noted to himself, pleased with the comparison. This conversation was proving to be very enlightening to the merchant, as he was starting to be able to make connections and comparisons between the Shinobi villages.

Risho wasn't as thrilled with this comparison. He scoffed loudly before continuing. "Please! The Hyuuga hold no candle to the might of the Kurogane clan. We are an elite that surpasses any clan from other villages, especially ones from Konoha of all places!"

The lavender haired heiress stiffened at his words. In addition to all the excess pride and arrogance, Risho was very keen on saying things to insult Konoha, and by proxy, her. He had no idea that he could be offending her, or if he did he didn't care. Yen would often try and say something polite about Konoha to balance off his hate, but Risho would just shut down whatever he would say. The conversation would then continue, getting even more awkward for Hinata.

'Please...Naruto, Shikamaru, Anko-Sensei...get over here.' She pleaded, hoping to have someone to either talk or to help alleviate the awkwardness.

Hinata's wishes weren't granted for another twenty minutes. Shikamaru and Kurotsuchi came back, holding a couple of logs and chatting amiably. Naruto and Roto also came back around the same time, carrying back the fish they caught. Relief spread over the girl as she was able to converse amongst her friends and not have to listen to Risho talk.

After a few minutes, Roto started to prepare and cook the fish. The ninja and Yen watched, each one staring hungrily at the cooking fish.

"Looks pretty damn tasty, doesn't it?" A voice notes with the same hunger.

Everyone nearly jumps up in surprise as they turn to face the voice. They see Anko standing around grinning as if she had been there the entire time. Naruto wasn't having any of that.

"Where the hell were you Anko-Sensei? And you better damn well not think you are getting any of the fish!" Naruto shouted at her angrily.

"You better believe I am! I'm your sensei, so I order you." She replies with a scoff. "As for where I was, I was scanning the nearby area for any enemy ninja or thugs. You all will be pleased to know that there was a group of bandits around near the edge of the forest waiting for nighttime. So I killed them and set up traps for any other possible intruders. That a good enough explanation for where I was?"

Anko's students gulped at her words. Anko had no problem talking about killing, which sometimes actually bothered the younger, more innocent ninja. Hinata, who still remembered the feeling of taking a life, shuddered the most among the three. Nevertheless, the three didn't say anything about their discomfort. They just listened to their sensei's words and left it at that.

After a few more minutes, the fish was finished cooking. Everyone immediately started to dig into the food. In the middle of the dinner, however, Hinata felt like she had to address something.

"Um...w-where is Han-San? S-Shouldn't he be eating w-with us." She stuttered out nervously to the Iwa ninja.

Kurotsuchi frowned in response. "He spends all of this time by himself. He'll only come back when it's time to sleep, in which case he will take watch for any possible enemy that could attack at night. Otherwise, you won't see him here. He pretty much hates interacting with people."

'That's an understatement.' Anko noted bitterly in her head.

No conversation carried from that point. The shinobi and Yen ate the rest of their fish in silence. By the time they had finished, night was coming around and a figure could be seen walking towards camp. As it got closer, it revealed itself to be Han.

"Han-Sama! There you are!" Yen cheered at the sight of the Iwa jonin. "Where were you all this time?"

"Resting. After all, I am going to be the one to stay up and keep watch." Han replied simply as he turned his head to the genin. "It's late. You should all be getting sleep." The man spoke with a demanding tone.

None of the genin were up to the task of denying his request. The six of them, plus Yen, all bid everyone goodnight before going off to their sleeping bags. Han then turned his attention to Anko.

"You should sleep as well. It's a long ways to Konoha after all." Han informed her.

"Psh! I'm fine. I can stay up with you, or even take your place! I already was scanning for enemies earlier anyway!" Anko informed him.

"No, I'll be the one to stay awake. I admit that I got some rest since the time of our last conversation. Now it is your turn. Go to sleep." Han ordered, staring intently at the woman.

Anko may have been a stubborn woman, but even she knew a battle that she wasn't going to win. With a heavy sigh, she went over to her own sleeping bag and prepared for sleep.

Thirty minutes passed before she, and the others, fell asleep. Han continued to stay up alone: just the way he wanted it.

Hours had passed and it was now deep into the night. All the shinobi, minus Han, were asleep in their sleeping bags in the camp, with one other exception.

"Ehh...bathroom..." Naruto grumbled tiredly as he got up from his sleeping bag.

The blonde walked in a sleep daze away from camp to do his business. After he had finished, the boy walked back with full intention of going back to sleep.

"Good evening Naruto-San. Having trouble sleeping?"

Naruto's eyes shot wide open in surprise as he started to scan the area for the voice that scared him. It took him a few seconds to find the source of his voice: Han, who was sitting on the ground by the fire with a cup of tea in his hands.

"Uh...h-hey Han..." Naruto sputtered nervously. "N-No, I'm not. I just woke up and had to take a piss..."

The Iwa jonin raised his eyebrows in response to his words. "...I see."

After a little while, Naruto got over the initial shock of running into the man and was now curious about him. The illusive Iwa jonin had kept to himself the entire time at camp, only coming back at night to take over watch for the ninja and sending them to bed. This was the first time Naruto would actually have the opportunity to speak to the man, and for some reason, he really wanted to...

'Screw sleep, I'm probably not going to get this opportunity again.' Naruto concluded as he turned to face Han and spark up some conversation. "Um...s-so how's the watch going? Any enemies found?"

"I have a clone patrolling the area and set up multiple traps in addition to the ones your sensei set up. Needless to say, no, I have not found any." Han answered as he took a sip of tea.

"...oh. That makes sense." Naruto responded dumbly. "Then can't you go to sleep to with all the stuff set up?"

"I'm still keeping watch in case someone got past my clone and through the traps. Besides, I prefer to stay up. I like to watch the stars." The jonin replied.

The armor-wearing shinobi turned his head upward to the skies and let out a sigh. "Look at them. Not a care in the world. Away from the entire world and everything on it. I can't help but be jealous."

'...that's like a depressing version of Shikamaru's thoughts.' Naruto noted in shock.

"So, out of curiosity, how does Konoha treat you? How are they with the fox?" Han asked nonchalantly.

Naruto immediately stiffened. 'How the hell does he know about that?'

The older ninja noticed his surprise and fright, so he decided to explain. "Relax, I merely sense his chakra from you. I'm a jinchuuriki as well, so I mean you no harm."

Naruto's surprise turned to confusion. "Jinchuuriki?" He repeated the word.

"A demon container." Han replied. Naruto's eyes widened exponentially, realizing what he meant. "Just as you are the container of the Kyuubi, I am the container of the Gobi, or the five-tailed dolphin-horse. We are both jinchuuriki."

Everything started to click in Naruto's head. The loneliness in his eyes that matched his own. The strong desire Naruto had to speak to him. It all made sense now.

"You are just like me..." Naruto mumbled in realization. "...there are people in the world just like me."

"Correct. There are nine of us somewhere in the shinobi world, one for each of the tailed beasts. We are what both humans and demons refer to as jinchuuriki."

"So...then you too...you also had the same kind of life too? Alone...hated...judged..." Naruto asked quietly, repeating some of the feelings he felt growing up in Konoha.

"Yes. An orphan whose parents died long ago, chosen to become the container of the Gobi. I grew up surrounded by the same prejudice and scorn that you were. All jinchuuriki, as long as their secret is known, have." Han mentioned. His normal tone of voice switched to a softer, more saddened tone.

Naruto actually gave a smile as he faced Han. "Well, the feelings got better over time. That's one good thing at least! Still, it feels weird to finally meet someone who understands: someone who actually is just like me."

"Yes, you are correct. It is nice to be around others like us. Humans can't understand us. They never try to after all." The jonin stated bitterly.

Naruto noticed venom in Han's words. The way he said 'human' was equivalent to how Risho and Roto would say 'Konoha', or how Naruto himself would say 'Iwa'. There was deep venom in his words, which took the boy by surprise.

"Is being...a jinchuuriki why your students say you aren't a people person?" Naruto questioned, wanting to know why there was such venom in that one word.

Han scoffed at his words. "Yes, that is correct. What's the point of being around humans? They are hateful, disgusting creatures who look down upon anything that's not like them. They are even against their own kind: such as how our villages hate each other. I don't like associating myself with their kind."

A cold spell shivered down Naruto's spine. Han's words were getting increasingly more sharp and poisonous. The scary part was, though, that Naruto partly agreed with them! He knew many people in Konoha who fit the description Han was giving. They hated him and treated him as if he was below them for being the Kyuubi. They didn't give him a chance: they just hated him. Naruto also realized that Han had a point about hating other enemy shinobi. The blonde himself possessed such thoughts, and he felt increasingly guilty for thinking badly of Iwa shinobi such as Roto. 'Still...'

"Not every human is like that though! I know quite a few who are different. They are my friends." The boy informed him. As much as he agreed with the points Han was making, he knew many exceptions. His teammates, Anko-Sensei, Iruka-Sensei, the Hokage, Shikamaru's parents...multiple people came to mind when he thought about exceptions. "I also think that with hard work, we can change their minds. We can make them understand us!"

"Humans? Understand? Please. And as for your 'friends', they are only human. They will turn on you one day." The Iwa jonin replied matter-of-factually.

"You don't know that!" Naruto shouted back, defending the people who accepted him. "Come on, you know not everyone is like that! Don't you have some friends?"

Han turned away from the boy and stared back up to the stars. He took a deep breath before he speaking again.

"I am friends with a couple of horses and another jinchuuriki, a fellow shinobi of Iwa. However, I know that's not what you meant: you mean human friends. Well, when I was your age, yes. Two of them. They were my genin teammates. They were originally afraid of me due to the Gobi, but after a few weeks of training and getting to know each other, they saw me differently than before. They saw me as Han." He reminisced.

"...what happened?" Naruto asked quietly.

"..." Han took a sip of tea before speaking again. "...you are familiar with the Third Shinobi World War, aren't you? The one that made your Yondaime the most hated man in Iwa. Not that I actually hate the man: not any more than I hate other humans."

Naruto merely nodded in response.

"Good. So you know Iwa and Konoha were enemies in the war. Do you know about the Tsuchi no Yama incident?" The older shinobi questioned. Naruto shook his head in response, which caused Han to sigh. "Then prepare for a long explanation..."

"Tsuchi no Yama was the name for an Iwa base near the Tsuchi no Kuni - Kusa no Kuni border near a mountain. The majority of Iwa shinobi were placed there in order to defend the border and prevent any enemy shinobi from getting into our country's border, and by proxy, from getting into Iwa. Many were also stationed there before getting sent to different battleground sites. The base was where I was stationed permanently during the war. I was Iwa's defensive tool during the war." Han explained. Naruto flinched at the way the man said the word tool.

"Our enemies knew how important the base was to Iwa's plans, so they constantly attacked in order to claim it. All attempts failed. I personally saw to that. But that didn't stop them from trying. Eventually, they stopped their direct attacks and switched to using spies. These spies would sneak in and either steal valuable information or find ways in order to sneak enemy shinobi into the base for a surprise attack.

"Konoha sent one infamous spy from the Sarutobi clan. This one...well, we had trouble with him for some reason. We finally found about him and his presence in the camp when it was too late: he had gotten his allies in to the base and they launched their surprise attack.

"I engaged the spy to the best of my abilities. He, however, had apparently been in the base for awhile and had done his research on me and my fighting style. In the battle, he had me on my last rope, near death. I was worried of failing to protect Iwa and losing the base. I was worried that my mistake would give Konoha the opportunity to invade Iwa. I...I was worried for my friends. My fear made me angry and it made me vulnerable." Han took a second to stop his speech. His words started to get slower. "So...the Gobi took advantage of my weakened state and took control."

Naruto's eyes nearly shot out of his head. 'The beast...the Gobi...it took control?'

It took a few minutes before Han continued his speech. His voice was notably more bitter and disappointed. "With the Gobi's power, I defeated and killed that damn spy. However, Gobi just had a taste of blood and he wanted more. I was in such a weak state of mind that I couldn't fight him and take back control. So the Gobi wreaked havoc in the real world. By the time I was back in control, the Gobi had massacred all of the Iwa shinobi in the base. Everyone was dead."

Everyone died? The Gobi killed...' Naruto repeated the information in head, scared. His thoughts were interrupted by Han continuing again.

"Needless to say, the loss of the base was devastating. It's considered one of the main reasons Iwa lost the war, in addition to your Yondaime. So, a good part of the blame for the loss goes directly to me. Iwa didn't particularly like me before the war. Naruto-San, how do you think Iwa treated me after that?" The jonin asked bitterly.

Naruto didn't have to give an answer: they both knew. 'They must have seen him as more than a demon...'

"...and your friends?" The blonde asked nervously, remembering how this topic even started.

"Same as everyone else. They turned on me like all of Iwa. I was no longer Han to them. I was that damn demon HORSE!" Han shouted out. His eyes lit up red with anger and steam poured out of the furnace on his armor.

Killing intent leaked off Han that made Naruto nearly passed out. He had never experienced anything like this before in his entire life. The boy stared in awe at the man in front of him.

'He's so angry...so alone. Is this what I could become?' Naruto wondered sadly.

After a moment, Han calmed down. He turned to face the frightened genin with softer eyes.

"Forgive me, Naruto-San. I usually have better control over my emotions. Sometimes they can burst out, though." The man informed him as he bowed his head in apology. "I also didn't intend for my words to frighten or upset you. I was just trying to warn you. It's very possible that in a moment of weakness, the Kyuubi could take over your body and the people around you, even your friends, will judge and hate you. I'm just warning you to be careful of the fox and take care of yourself."

"...I...I trust my friends..." Naruto said quietly, as if trying to convince himself.

"For your sake, I hope they can be trusted." Han replied sadly. "Anyway, I recommend you go back to bed. You have a busy day tomorrow I bet."

Naruto nodded and got up quietly. Han bowed and bid him goodnight. Naruto did the same and went back to his sleeping bag.

The boy could no longer sleep. His mind was running rampant with thoughts about Han's words and life.

'Is that what could happen to me? Will the fox take over? Could that get my friends to turn on me like his did?' Naruto questioned. 'Wait...what if I kill them? The Gobi killed many shinobi from Iwa...what if the Kyuubi makes me do the same thing?'

Naruto remained awake for at least an hour, dealing with his internal thoughts. By the time he was able to fall asleep, he was plagued by nightmares of the future.

Away from the camp, on the other side of Tenchi Bridge, two men dressed in black cloaks with red clouds on them had set up a camp of their own. Despite how late at night it was, the two men were wide awake.

The first man was a tall, muscular man with tanned skin. He had on a white hood and a black mask that covered his face. The mask had the headband for Takigakure on it, with the symbol for the village having a cut through it. The man was staring into the night sky and the moon intently.

The second man was a little shorter than the first man, but was equally muscular and had a more youthful air around him. He had dark skin, spiky white hair, and brown eyes. He wore a headband for Kumogakure around his neck with the same cut through the symbol as his partner's headband. He was currently fidgeting with a long, silver rod that he had in his hands. The rod had a sharp point at the end and the kanji for thunder was engraved on it.

"Kakuzu, are you sure we have to wait for the morning? I'd want to get this over with already!" The man with the rod mumbled in complaint.

"You are going to have to wait Nasumareta. The leader mentioned framing the Konoha shinobi with the 'disappearance' of the Gobi jinchuuriki, so it would be unwise to attack while they are present. We'd end up killing them as well, which would just make this disappearance suspicious to the world." The taller man, Kakuzu, replied. He seemed to be thoroughly annoyed with his partner.

"I get that, but still. I just wish we could get this over with already! I'm not interested in interfering with the lives of Iwa shinobi. I'd much rather be going after the Kumo jinchuuriki!" The second man, Nasumareta, whined.

"Your hatred for your home village is ridiculous and is starting to get annoying." Kakuzu mentioned, giving his partner a glare.

"Oh come on, don't deny you wouldn't want to do that to the jinchuuriki Taki has!" The white haired man pointed out.

"Maybe, but I will take advantage of that when the time comes on. Now, shut up before I kill you." Kakuzu informed him.

"Like you could." Nasumareta scoffed as he pointed his rod at his partner.

'Yup, I am definitely killing him. After we capture the Gobi and extract it, I am killing this brat and collecting the high bounty Kumo has on his head." The man from Taki noted darkly.

Silence filled the air between the two men for an hour or two. Both men remained awake however, waiting for the first opportunity to strike once Konoha and Iwa separated.

"So, the plan the same one we discussed earlier right?" Nasumareta asked his partner. The younger man had a more serious and darker tone to his voice.

"Correct. I gathered detailed information from my confidants in Iwa and I've learned somethings about Han. Our strategy should be able to dispose of him. We just have to be careful, because he is a careful and dangerous opponent." Kakuzu informed his partner. The older man actually seemed like he was looking forward to this fight.

"I know, I know. No way in hell I'm understanding this guy." The former Kumo ninja agreed. "And his genin and the merchant?"

"They won't garner much price on the black market, but we can always see when we get there. They should be killed as well." His partner replied.

"Understood."

Nasumareta, after speaking, raised his rod up into the sky and pointed it directly at the moon. The man's face picked up a sadistic grin as he stared intently at the moon.

"You know, I take it back what I said earlier about not caring about this. I'm excited! After tomorrow, we're one step closer to peace. We're closer to our control!" He said excitedly.

"We are one step closer to achieving Akatsuki's goal." He exclaimed, emphasizing each word and getting louder. Soon, the younger man burst into laughter at whatever mental image was going on his head.

'...bipolar idiot. First he was whining, then rational, and now he's raving about peace.' Kakuzu sighed in annoyance. He was having no second thoughts about his plan to murder his partner.

Still, he couldn't deny his partner's words. Tomorrow was going to be the day where everything changed. Tomorrow was the dawn of Akatsuki.