Akatsuki's Secret

Although Sanbi did greet the Kyuubi and the Hachibi, the scene could be better described as Sanbi facing Naruto and Hachi Kira. The demon was speaking to the two of them, but he was referring to their inside demons since they were able to communicate freely. Because of that, Naruto and Kira ended up being only the ones who brought their demons for a little conversation. As he heard Kyuubi speaking in mind in some random language he never heard of, he instantly assumed it was what the fox had referred to as demon language. Having nothing to do but wait Naruto wondered how his team faired against Kumo's Thunder Anbu Team.

"You know, since we have nothing to do but wait we could talk for a little while? What do you say? I'm most interested to get to know a fellow Anbu Jinchuuriki. There aren't many left these days you know" – Asked Kira as he turned to Naruto and adjusted one of his sword's handles from blinding his vision a bit.

Naruto looked at the man and wondered a bit. He wanted to be quiet for a while as he heard the demons talking but seeing as the man did propose some side activity to pass the time, he guessed he could grant him a couple of words. The truth of the matter was that Naruto had only met one Jinchuuriki before and it was Gaara of the Sand. He heard of one Jinchuuriki in Kumo, who happened to be captured by the Akatsuki but that was about it. Maybe it would be good to get to know a second person who happened to share the same fate as him.

"I guess we can talk for a while; I never knew that demons talked so much and it quite freaked me out as well" – Said Naruto earning a snicker from Kira followed by three demons grumbling, before returning to their conversation.

"I'm very curious as to the treatment you received in Konoha as a Jinchuuriki. In Kumo, there was another one like us but unfortunately she was captured. Nevertheless, both she and I weren't as badly treated as you were; why is that?" – Asked Kira before looking as the blond furrowed his head in thought.

"I guess how the Hachibi appeared in Kumo isn't in any way similar to how Kyuubi did. Seventeen years ago the fox was responsible for almost leveling the entire village. He killed many, both civilians and shinobi and, by consequence all of their families who mourned their deaths developed a deep and subconscious hatred for the fox. If they had known that the Fourth Hokage killed the beast instead of sealing it inside me I might have had a normal life; or at least the normal life of an orphan as I never knew my parents. They died just not long after I was born. As a result of these events I was treated as the village's scapegoat for all their subconscious rage and anger" – Explained Naruto before he continued. "Ah, you said that in Kumo there was another one like us? Tell me something about her. I heard rumors about Kumo having the Nibi as well?" – Asked Naruto to which Kira nodded and began to explain.

"Yugito Nii was to considered the best kunoichi that ever joined Kumo's ranks. Of course, her demon Nibi no Nekomata was a serving demon so it loaned the energy whenever Yugito needed it. The Yondaime Raikage trained us from the beginning to deal with life and death situations thus sending us on A to S ranked missions all the time. She was an orphan just like you but the Raikage acted both as her teacher and her caretaker. In the end though, she was up against two of the Akatsuki and was easily captured for unknown reasons. She was a kunoichi with much promise but unfortunately they caught her and captured the Nibi thus killing her as a result." – Said Kira, though Naruto could sense the last part was spoken with clear sadness, which meant that he was close to this Yugito.

"You sound as the two of you were close to each other" – Asked Naruto, earning a sad nod from Kira.

"We were promised to each other since birth for marriage. Although it would be a forced marriage, in theory, both of us fell in love with each other as time passed…I still remember the last thing she said to me before I went on a mission." – Said Kira as he remembered what happened.

Flashback on

The sun in Kumo was almost setting and both Kira and Nii were sitting on top of the Thunder Kage's monument located at the highest mountain in a similar way to Konoha. Yugito was resting her head on Kira's shoulder with her eyes closed and a smile one face. The scene couldn't be more perfect to her. They were scheduled to get married in a week from today and while it was already settled before they became shinobis, both of them longed for the day to come. Suddenly a chunnin arrived and called Kira for a meeting with the Raikage for a mission towards the capital city of Lightning Country. Kira nodded sadly and awakened his soon to be wife, who had dozed off, to tell her the news.

When he left her in her house she called him and spoke. "Come back safe my love, when you return from your mission, we'll be able to live our lives with happiness and my heart will, for the first time, feel true warmth of being loved" – Said Yugito after they shared a kiss.

At the time Kira smiled and promised to come back to her no matter what. He didn't know however that this was be the last time he would see his beloved and soon to be wife.

Flashback off

"After I came back from my mission, the Yondaime Raikage gave me the news of Yugito's capture by Akatsuki. It took my brother, the Godaime Raikage and a couple of my Anbu team to keep me from releasing the Hachibi and destroying the entire Hokage Tower. It didn't matter though, as my dear Yugito was dead and I wouldn't see her again" – Explained Kira before looking to the lake water and saw the reflection of Yugito smiling at him.

Naruto could sympathize with the man. Even if the woman of his dreams wasn't dead, he had felt like he lost her when he saw Kurenai together with Asuma. Naruto was afraid to imagine what he would do if he knew Kurenai passed away. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I have a girlfriend in Konoha and I care for her a lot. I wouldn't know what to do if she suffered the same fate as your beloved Yugito; may kami have her soul right now" – Said Naruto earning an appreciated nod from Kira.

After hearing Naruto's words Kira couldn't help but smile upon hearing that at least, the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki found happiness in his life. However, the fact remained that he missed his wife and nothing would change that. "It's good to hear you found someone, my advice to you is to protect her at all times and do not let her go. Trust me, the pain I felt for losing her doesn't even compare to the pain I felt for not being able to do anything to prevent it from happening" - Said Kira earning a nod from Naruto who knew about this all too well.

"For all the power both you and I have because of our inner demons and to not being able to save those you care for is the most brutal punishment anyone in our position could receive. Because of my position back in the village, I could count with both my hands the number of people who don't hold a grudge against what I carry inside me and if I was unable to save these precious few then I would rather kill myself because the pain would be unbearable." - Explained Naruto. Kira was beginning to lose control of his emotions and instantly blocked everything. Yugito's death hurt him a lot and he just knew that he wouldn't get over it anytime soon.

"Anbu-san, for the sake of my insanity I'd rather stop talking about my beloved Yugito. I'm not prepared to deal with this yet. Now, tell me something...your fighting skills were very impressive back there. I was wondering about that speed of yours. You must have trained really hard?" - Asked Kira to which Naruto nodded and explained.

"Having an abundance of chakra to use, I can channel large portions of chakra and channel it through my legs earning the necessary propulsion. Not to mention those damn weights I had to get used to. What about you? I never saw anyone using eight swords at the same time before, why use so many?" - Asked Naruto though this time, he wondered if he was asking confidential information to the man, after all, a ninja's best ally is his secrets. Kira, however didn't believe so as he explained about the eight style of kenjutsu that he invented with the aid of his inner demon who happened to be the Eight Tailed Demon. Naruto learned that it took Kira nearly four years to develop the style into perfection and until today, no one managed to face him in battle and not get sliced like a lemon because of it.

"You know, I once, defeated one of the Legendary Swordsman of the Mist. Kisame, I think was his name. It happened about ten years ago while he was still a member of Mist's ranks. His Samehada wasn't powerful enough to hold against my eight swords. I'll tell you though, that shark was one tough opponent to beat not to mention that it wasn't a complete win, since I had to flee with my team back then but it was a nice fight, though" - Said Kira as he remembered that shark-like sword almost shattering his swords. Naruto too remembered engaging Kisame along with Hawk.

"Kisame was indeed a worthy opponent. It took me and another Anbu to take him down." - Said Naruto quite expecting Kira to break his neck from turning so fast but instead the man just slowly turned and looked at him in wonder, before Naruto explained. "Kisame was from the same group as that plant guy we beat was. He and his partner, Uchiha Itachi, came looking for me in hopes of capturing the fox however they had to face Konoha Anbu's finest, hence how we managed to kill Kisame. Itachi however escaped our clutches" - Explained Naruto earning a nod from Kira before the fox called their attention.

"Naruto, our conversation is over and Sanbi here has news regarding the technique behind the demon extraction seal. It consists of a fuuinjutsu technique that requires nine sources of power to extract the demon at the same time. What Sanbi didn't mention is that even with some of the members dead they can still continue with the procedure." - Explained Kyuubi, earning a thinking pose from Naruto and Kira.

Naruto was considering the information known so far and tried to assimilate everything. It required nine sources of chakra to maintain the sealing technique but if more than half of the members are dead then how would they be able to extract demons. Suddenly Kira voiced his thoughts.

"I couldn't say I met all of them to verify some pattern but the plant guy named Zetsu wore a ring with a Kanji engraved on it. There is a possibility that each members wears one different and those rings, together, are responsible for the technique" - Advised Kira before Naruto continued the line of thought.

"If that's true then I believe Konoha may be of assistance." - Said Naruto earning the attention of Kira and the voices of three demons asking what he talking about. Naruto remembered that Kisame's body was still due to be analyzed before being sent to Kiri for the bounty on his head. So the ring must still be on Kisame's body. "One of their members was killed by Anbu forces some time ago and I happen to know it would take a while to examine him before sending his head to Kiri for the bounty. His ring must still be attached to his hand. I bet Jiraya could analyze it and finish the missing piece of their technique." - Explained Naruto.

Kira and the demons acknowledged that possibility and the demons now considered meeting once more in the future to discuss further developments. Sanbi was to hide at the bottom of the lake until told otherwise and Naruto and Kira would return to their home villages. "Kira-san, we'll meet again to discuss this issue and hope to eliminate this group once and for all." - Said Naruto before turning and focused chakra to his legs. However, when he was about to jump towards the shore when Kira called him.

"Wait! I told you my name and since we're together on this, please tell me yours" - Asked Kira earning a look of suspicion from Naruto. He wanted to leave without having to blow his identity. However, Naruto saw no ill-intent coming from Kira, so it would be fair to do this.

"Uzumaki Naruto" - Said Naruto earning a nod from Kira who appreciated and vanished.

===At the Hokage's office===

Two days later, Naruto and his team reported their mission to meet the Sanbi and explained about the fuuinjutsu technique that was used to extract the demons. Jiraiya was also there and became intrigued with such a technique. The pervert asked for the ring and Tsunade agreed to give it to him, with one condition. The condition was that the pervert had to remain within the village walls, while studying the ring because it was a now valuable object. Being the free spirit that he was, of course, Jiraiya first objected to the idea. However, the possibility of stopping the group from sealing the last two tailed demons made him think twice and accepted the restriction.

"Naruto, I understand you engaged against the Hachibi Jinchuuriki? Are his skills enough to avoid being captured?" – Asked Tsunade earning a nod from Naruto who began to explain.

"Hachi Kira is, unlike me, almost a hundred percent reliant on the eight tailed demon. In fact, his entire fighting style revolves around the demon. I engaged him, sure, but for some reason, he didn't use the demon's power against me, but in human terms, I managed to beat him. It was then that Zetsu appeared and we had to deal with him. As to his abilities, I'm sure he wouldn't be captured so easily. Just seeing his wife's killer would send his blood boil…I know mine would…" – Explained Naruto with his arms crossed but everyone could see he was looking down towards the ground.

Kurenai saw this and became worried about her lover. Ever since they took the trip back to Konoha, Naruto was behaving like this and it scared her to. She was determined to ask what was on his mind. Eventually, Tsunade dismissed the team since there was something she needed to discuss with Jiraya so the group nodded and vanished thus leaving the two sannin alone.

"What do you think has happened?" – Asked Tsunade to which Jiraya turned to think for a bit. Since Naruto joined the Anbu forces, not even a single hint of emotion could be seen from the blond.

"Beats me, I stopped trying to understand the real enigma that is Uzumaki Naruto. What I'm worried about right now is studying the ring and get to find a counter-measure in case they tried using the rings again" – Stated Jiraiya earning a nod from Tsunade.

"This seal will grant you authority to see Kisame's corpse and extract the ring from his hand. We need to find something really fast, get on it" – Ordered Tsunade before seeing Jiraiya nod and vanish.

===Inside Naruto's place===

After leaving Tsunade's office Hawk, Bear and Dog went to the Anbu HQ while Naruto and Kurenai went to the blond's apartment seeing as the whole team got a day to rest from the fights that occurred. Just after Kurenai closed his door she saw Naruto taking off his mask and sit on his couch while still looking down in thought. Kurenai, sometimes, couldn't understand her boyfriend's feelings and it concerned her to no end. She wanted to be there for him and now either he didn't want to talk about what happened or it could be one of those deep secrets that exist regarding Naruto.

"Naruto, please talk to me, I want to know why you're feeling so sad…I want to help you" – Begged Kurenai as she sat down near him but he still didn't look at her. Ever since he heard Kira talking about Yugito, Naruto began to imagine what would happen if Kurenai suffered the same fate. Needless to say he didn't want to think about…but the more he saw Kurenai, the worse the feelings got. Kurenai, though, was resolved to get through to her boyfriend no matter what. "Naruto, you can trust me with whatever it is you're feeling right now" – Said Kurenai looking at his cerulean blue eyes while trying to predict the subject of his grief before he began muttering a few words.

"K…Kure-chan" – Said Naruto before seeing Kurenai smile and nod for him to continue. "The Hachibi Jinchuuriki told me that Akatsuki kil…led his fiancée and…I didn't want to think about it but then I started thinking of what I do if I lost you. I'd lose my mind completely Kure-chan. I wouldn't know what to do…." – Sniffed Naruto but Kurenai placed her fingers on his mouth and did a gentle whisper 'shhhh' to calm him down before she hugged the fierce Shippu Ookami's who had tears falling freely on his face. Now that she knew what Naruto thinking about it filled her heart with warmth hearing Naruto's feelings for her, however she needed to assure him of her capabilities as a jounin.

Smiling, Kurenai positioned Naruto's face in order to maintain eye contact before smashing her lips on his with passion. Naruto returned the kiss and hugged her for dear life, for this was one of the rarest moments in his life that a ninja could afford to lower his guard and just be human. Minutes later, Kurenai broke the kiss and just stared at his endless cerulean blue eyes that hold great love for her.

"Rest assured my love, I'm one of Konoha's top Jounin Kunoichis. There is no way Akatsuki would try something without at least me being able to call for backup. Aside from Itachi, no one can use genjutsu against me and that gives me leverage in battle. Besides, the one the fierce Shippu Ookami chose as companion can't be called weak, now can't she?" – Asked Kurenai earning a snicker from Naruto, who by now, dried all the pent up tears.

"Thank you Kurenai-chan, for everything" – Said Naruto before falling to unconsciousness right on Kurenai's lap.

The woman was stunned for a while but then she smiled like never before. Seeing a ninja such as Naruto being this comfortable around her meant only one thing: unconditional trust and confidence that she would be there for him no matter what happened. Then, she just sat there passing one hand through his golden locks and the other was gently caressing his face until she touched near the whisker marks and saw his body get relaxed. "You're sensitive around this area, aren't you Naru-kun" – Smiled Kurenai, while never stopping to caress his hair and face, feeling more and more love for the blond that captured her heart for good.

===Inside Naruto's mindscape===

After he blacked out Naruto instantly appeared inside his mindscape and faced the almighty Kyuubi no Yoko. He felt Kurenai's hands rubbing his whisker marks and smiled in relaxation while being able to hear her gentle voice.

"You know, I'm not much for sentimentality here but I can see how you feel for your mate and she does for you" – Said Kyuubi as he was lying down with his paws crossed and his tails flipping side by side.

"After Kira's story I couldn't help but think that they would kill her to get to me but I should have more faith in her abilities as a jounin and hope to be there for her. Now, why did you feel the need to contact me, Kyuubi" – Asked Naruto earning a look in interest from the fox who didn't think the blond would figure this out from pure body language.

"You became perceptive with time, I see. Yes, I have something urgent to discuss and is regarded to your abilities. I know that your sensei helped you with close-contact fighting but we need to see to that you could cover all your grounds. I happened to find a suitable opponent from your memories that will be able to cover all types of fighting, going from close to long-range fighting. Meet Uchiha Itachi." – Said Kyuubi, before Sasuke's brother suddenly appeared in front of Naruto, earning a look in wonder from the blond.

"You're kidding with me, right? Not even Kakashi-sensei and the Hokage could deal with him and you expect me to win this battle" – Objected Naruto but Kyuubi wouldn't hear it and instead decided to speak through Itachi.

"You'll have to face me sooner or later Naruto. It's better you face me in here where you don't need to worry about him capturing you and endangering us. Itachi will have two purposes, one will be to see if you could top an experienced Uchiha in a fight and two will be to understand how Itachi fights and possibly study the sharingan a little better" – Explained Kyuubi earning a snarl from Naruto from seeing a simple stare of those accursed eyes.

"But how can you replicate this Itachi's sharingan and its abilities?" – Asked Naruto, though he feared he now asked too much since seconds after he shut his mouth, dead silence enveloped the area.

The blond didn't know what happened. It appeared to be a simple question. But when Kyuubi remained quiet soon afterwards it somehow became clear to Naruto that maybe there was a connection between the accursed eyes and the fox in front of him. History told that the Uchiha were born because of one member of the Hyuuga clan who made a pact with a demon in exchange from obtaining a new form of doujutsu named the Sharingan. Sighing in realization Naruto looked to Itachi knowing he would be talking to the fox.

"I see it now, you're the one who created the accursed eye, didn't you Kyuubi?" – Asked Naruto before being able to see a slight nod from Itachi and smiling in contemplation.

"You don't seem to bother much after learning the truth Naruto, why so?" – Asked the fox, earning a nod from Naruto who turned to explain his thoughts.

"Why would this bother me at all? The sharingan was cursed but the ones that came from the Uchiha Clan were so as well. Both Itachi and Sasuke were driven by pure desire for power for reasons I rather don't judge. In the end, both did things that were referred to as being evil. Itachi murdered his clan for unknown reasons and Sasuke betrayed Konoha once in order to kill the one who murdered his family. In the end, it wasn't because of the eye, but rather their corrupted thinking, who, even though they possesses the all-seeing eye, are blinded to those around them. The sharingan can be a good weapon for those who know how to use it like Kakashi-sensei. However, for those with weak minds the sharingan overrules their judgment on things and see them as being less important. The events that happened because of the sharingan couldn't, in no way, shape or form, return to the creator. So, why would I bother to know it was you who granted the Uchiha the accursed eye" – Explained Naruto earning a nod from Itachi followed by a smile.

"Well, enough of the sharingan, seeing that it doesn't bother you. Itachi will be fighting against you but he won't use the Mangenkyou Sharingan. The reason being that he could use techniques that no matter your abilities, you wouldn't have a chance in hell of defeating them…well not unless, you have me to help. But in this case, you're on your own, so we'll begin the fight immediately. Remember, even without the mangenkyou, Itachi was your superior at the age of thirteen so his skills aren't limited to the Kaleidoscope form of the Sharingan, where do you wish the fight to happen?" – Asked Kyuubi before seeing Naruto think for a while.

"Konoha's Training Ground number seven, Kyuubi. We need an open field in order to test everything we have up our sleeves" – Said Naruto earning a nod from the fox who immediately used his powers to create the image of them facing each other at the same place Naruto's genin team had their true Genin Test. The sun was scorching hot which could only attest for Kyuubi's creativity while recreating live scenarios. After observing the place for a while, Naruto looked at Itachi, now with his Anbu armor and a ninjato strapped on his back.

Naruto never got to see Itachi's sword because of the stupid black cloak that he wear all the time. Looking closely, Naruto could plainly see the red eyes with three tomoe which indicated that Itachi was ready for Naruto's first move. While making hand seals, Naruto didn't object to Itachi using the sharingan to know the technique he would be using to start the fight. Fuuton Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough Jutsu). Instantly, a huge gust of wind charged against Itachi who in turn, with calm and tranquility, made the hand signs needed for the Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu) and exhaled a huge ball of fire.

The techniques, upon contact, nullified one another and created a lot of smoke that covered the field, thus giving Naruto the necessary leverage of Itachi having to resort to his instincts. Taking his sword off the handle, Naruto focused some chakra on his feet for the necessary propulsion and got into the heavy smoke. After leaving, he saw Itachi already half way through, holding his own ninjato in preparation for Naruto's swing. The blond smiled and swing his sword from the right side downwards to upwards, in hopes of attacking Itachi with a diagonal strike. However, this time Itachi easily blocked the attack, because of the sharingan and moved his sword to the left in order to attack Naruto's supposedly exposed side.

Seeing the attack Naruto dodged almost constantly because of his initiative, he positioned his sword to block the strike, before using the momentum of the two swords clashing to land a kick on Itachi's chest.

Itachi wondered what happened since his sharingan should've seen the kick, however he realized that Naruto's eyes weren't focused on aiming his kick. Instead, they were locked at the two swords while they were at stalemate, meaning that Naruto had a good grasp on how to counter the sharingan's abilities.

"Nicely done Naruto, however this is just getting started." – Said Kyuubi and in an instant Itachi made hand seals with speed that could rival the Sandaime Hokage back in his prime. After the final tiger seal, Itachi whispered Katon Karyuu Endan (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Missile Jutsu). What happened afterwards, a white layered fire was expelled from Itachi's mouth and charged straight at Naruto who in turn, didn't have other choice but to use a jutsu to defend himself.

"Suiton Suijinheki (Water Release: Water Barrier Jutsu)" – Shouted Naruto while looking at the incoming flames, before a huge wall of water appeared in front of him, thus defending him from the blast. Shifting sideways, Naruto made some fast hand seals before focusing on Raiton Kusari Raikou (Lightning Release: Lightning Chain Jutsu). Since Itachi was focusing on his fire technique, he didn't have enough time to see Naruto' hand seals before a huge dark cloud appeared on top of him and began destroying the field with lightning bolts.

Quickly evading the consecutive attacks, he didn't even see Naruto coming directly from behind and landing a punch straight on Itachi's face which sent him flying. However, the Itachi he hit was replaced by a murder of crows indicating that Naruto was under a genjutsu. The crows, then, proceeded to attack Naruto with fury before Naruto made the famous dispelling technique and disrupted the genjutsu but he wasn't fast enough to prevent a punch on the face from Itachi. Flipping his body, Naruto landed safely a few feet away and observed Itachi for a while. He managed to cast a genjutsu on the blond by exchanging looks for one second. The elder Uchiha's reputation preceded him after all, Naruto thought.

Looking for a while, Naruto observed that a few of the lightnings had ended up hitting Itachi if the bruises on his arms were any indication, which meant that his best alternative was to stick to surprise attacks. The stunt Naruto pulled with the surprise raiton attack could happen again but now with a much stronger attack. If Naruto managed to use the same tactic and make Itachi use an offensive jutsu, he could use a defensive one, followed by a powerful offensive technique. However that would be a plan for other time. Charging another time, this time with straight taijutsu, Naruto moved to punch Itachi but was blocked as Itachi, then, aimed for a middle kick on Naruto's side stomach before Naruto grabbed the man's foot and threw him away. Naruto then used a couple of shurikens and threw them at Itachi.

The Uchiha flipped his body fast enough and used a kunai to stop the projectiles from reaching his body before throwing the kunai at Naruto and made some hand seals for Ninpou Kage Kunai no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Kunai Shadow Clone Jutsu). Instantly, one kunai became ten and all of them pierced Naruto's skin before transforming into a log. As soon as Naruto was about to attack once again he heard Kyuubi ending the fight.

"That will be enough; I'm satisfied with your abilities. You managed to overcome your short comings regarding close-contact fighting. Now, it's about time for you wake up" – Said Kyuubi earning a nod from Naruto who then, vanished from his mindscape and opened his eyes to see his beloved looking at him.

"Slept well Naruto-kun? You could rest a while longer if you wish. I know I wouldn't mind caressing your hair some more" – Stated Kurenai before seeing Naruto laugh for a bit and got up from her lap. Actually, even if Naruto spent some good half an hour inside his mindscape, the notion of time is seriously reduced in the real world, hence why Naruto slept nothing more than ten minutes. Seeing that it was already late the couple soon went to sleep.

===Next day at Training Ground 15===

The next day, Uzuki Yuugao was standing in the middle of Training Ground waiting for her genin team to arrive. Fully dressed with the jounin attire and with a katana strapped on her back, she was staring at three ninjato stuck in the ground. Her genin team was composed of two girls and a boy; all three of them came from regular families, not one of them linked to Konoha's major clans. Actually, she kind of asked the Hokage to not set her up with any one from a major clan; the reason being that in this way she could develop their abilities from scratch without having to worry about sharing their training with the clan. And that was precisely why she would teach them the way of the sword.

In Konoha, not many ninjas choose to learn the art of kenjutsu so it was safe to say, it became a lost art. Kids these days all wanted to know about flashy jutsu and beating the crap out of the opponents but very few understand the need of learning to use a weapon and Uzuki Yuugao intended to change that. Today would be her team's first official day as genin since two days ago, Yuugao made all three of them run a little test of skills. She didn't believe in the second exam the academy students had to pass so it was only a test to see where she needed to help them improve and which subjects she could teach her students. Just when she was about to wonder any further, she heard footsteps coming and looked to the source's direction before smiling upon seeing her three genin.

"Morning everyone, two days ago, you were tested and I made some notes regarding the areas that needs improvement. Aside from that, we're going to focus heavily on both chakra control and Kenjutsu" – Said Yuugao earning a look in wonder from her three genin at the mention of the word kenjutsu. Upon seeing this, Yuugao could only sigh in dismay as the genin didn't have a clue on what kenjutsu means. "Kenjutsu means the art of the sword and it consists of using the sword as an extension to the ninja's body making him or her feared by the enemy. In front of you are three ninjato that will be used on your training and missions. Ninjato are used for precise attacks and agility in combat. Its smaller form allows the ninja an advantage of speed and better focus while attacking as well as in defense. Go ahead; each of you take one and start to get familiarized with your sword" – Explained Yuugao before seeing them take the ninjato out of its sheath and admiring it.

"In time, I'll teach you guys to use these blades as an extension of your body, as well as other supplementary ninja arts in order to implement your skills. Now about them, I used our last encounter as a way to determine a more suitable training for each of you" – Said Yuugao as she looked at each one until she began with the boy. "Yutaro, your ninjutsu is your strength and I know from your files that you already able to use doton techniques. Doton manipulation, while is the easiest element there is to learn, is quite handy in battle. It serves both as offense and defense. I happen to know a few techniques you could learn but not until we improve your chakra control a bit. Compared to your teammates, your chakra control is minimal but that's because your chakra reserve is much bigger, so it's understandable" – Said Yuugao before seeing Yutaro nod.

Looking at the next, the first girl, Sasame, Yuugao smiled and explained. "Sasame, your chakra control is perfect but we'll need to boost those chakra reserves and throw in a little stamina training. Your speed is considered one of the best of your generation and we'll train it. Also, you seem to have some knowledge on genjutsu as well, so we'll work on that as well. Last, but not least, Misao. Your abilities rely on taijutsu mostly, so kenjutsu will be a second close-contact art for you. Also, you have the ability to channel chakra through your body and that's fantastic ability to have. All of you have the ability to grow strong and rise the ranks. Now we'll start with some laps around the training ground, move it" – Shouted Yuugao earning a surprised nod from the genin before they began to run, with their swords strapped on their backs, in order to be accustomed to the feeling.

===At Tsunade's office===

Looking through some documents, Tsunade found a mission request coming from a high lord from Fang Country requesting a document retrieval mission from some Iwa missing-nins who happened to break into his castle and stole it from him. Immediately, Tsunade began writing below the request, the shinobi part, like the rank type and what skills would be needed to complete this task. Iwa missing-nins automatically raised the mission bar to at least B ranked, so no one under jounin or high level chunnin would be called for this. Next, the type of skills needed to find the missing-nins, beat them to a pulp and recover the stolen documentation. Plus the fact that the man is of high nobility, Tsunade was hard-pressed not to remote the list to mid to high level jounin level ninjas to fulfill this mission.

So, it would either elite jounins or Anbu members to perform the mission. Unfortunately, all jounins were on missions right now, leaving only a few low level ones and a lot of chunnins. Therefore, it would be Anbu then. Taking an envelope inside one of the drawers, she began to scan the names of Anbu operatives that would be best suited for the mission. Ok, then, Hawk Bear and Dog were sent together with the Anbu Commander for a mission towards Kumo. Shikamaru would definitely be on this mission because of his intellect and Shino will be as well. Both managed to surprise a lot of people because of their teamwork in missions. Now, I believe sending two Anbu level shinobi will prove to be wrong, since I don't know how many missing-nins there are. It's better to put a powerhouse on the group to be able to take on many opponents at once and I can't think of no one better suited for this position than Naruto. – Thought Tsunade as she placed the mission specifics and reached for Shizune to call the names listed on the paper.

Within minutes, the three of them appeared inside Tsunade's office before saluting the hokage.

"Good timing. Now, as so you know, I'm issuing an A ranked mission towards Fang Country. A high official from the Daimyo's castle contracted us to retrieve a document that was stolen by Iwa missing-nins for reasons he didn't state in the letter. Your mission is to track the Iwa missing-nins down and retrieve the document. We don't know how many are there, so proceed with care. Black Wolf will be the leader of the team, you are all to leave in half an hour, god speed to all of you and return safe" – Said Tsunade before seeing the three vanish via Shunshin. The three Anbu appeared on the top of the Hokage's office.

Shikamaru, with the deer mask, turned to Naruto and looked at him for a while.

"So, Naruto, we're finally working together on a mission, huh. I felt kind of bad to be on different teams but now we get to run a mission together" – Said Shikamaru earning a nod from Naruto who took off his mask and smiled to his partner.

"I was also wanting to see how you guys would fare against a fair number of opponents. I trust you're better prepared than before, if Yamato's reports are any indication. You finally mastered suiton manipulation Shikamaru and you Shino managed raiton manipulation. I'm pretty sure we will be able to nail these guys and sent the bounty to Iwa. Meet me in half an hour at the north gate, we're going hunting" – Said Naruto before he vanished within a small typhoon thus leaving Shino and Shikamaru alone to look at each other.

Shino was quite pleased to work alongside Naruto as well and the thought of seeing the blond performing some heavy artillery jutsus against the Iwa missing-nins. Both of them were eager to see Naruto in action. Naruto, after leaving Shikamaru and Shino, decided to scout throughout Konoha in order to locate his beloved. If he remembered correctly, she said that she would meet Anko for some lunch at the Dango Restaurant. So when Naruto arrived inside he was surprised to see not only the two, but also Ino there as well.

The girls, upon seeing the black masked Anbu, got different reactions. Kurenai smiled broadly seeing her boyfriend and Anko smiled too from already knowing the black masked Anbu. Ino though, couldn't remember when she saw such an imposing mask before but she had to admit it was scary to say the least. Seeing her uneasiness Kurenai smiled.

"Ino-chan, you don't need to be scared, it's just my boyfriend coming to greet me" - Said Kurenai as she got up from the table and approached the black masked Anbu before hugging him with affection.

"Kure-chan, I'm about to go on a mission now with Shikamaru and Shino towards Fang Country, the mission is due to end shortly, so I won't be gone for long" - Said Naruto earning a nod followed by a kiss on his cheeks, after removing his mask a bit.

"You be careful out there, okay and come back to me" - Said Kurenai to which Naruto smiled and assured her once again, that no matter what, he'd always come back to her.

He kissed her one more time and was about to leave when Ino called to him and asked if Shikamaru would be going as well, to which Naruto nodded.

"Ok then, could you take care of him for me Naruto? He's been doing these tough missions non-stop right now and I fear that something might happen to him. He's not trained to battle multiple opponents like you" - Asked Ino but was interrupted by Kurenai who advised Ino to trust Shikamaru's abilities.

"Don't worry Ino; Shikamaru has improved a lot in battle. He will be just fine besides he got both Shino and me to look out for each other, we'll do fine. Now, Kure-chan, I have to go now, I'm supposed to meet them in ten minutes" - Said Naruto earning a nod from Kurenai who whispered prays of good luck to his ear and landed a gentle kiss on his cheek before Naruto vanished.

===At the gate===

Shikamaru and Shino were already there waiting for their Anbu captain to arrive. Shikamaru was now thinking about the irony of the situation. Five years ago, he wouldn't even think of Naruto being a mission leader but now the blond changed so much; it was like a totally different person. He was about to wander more but was interrupted when Naruto arrived and issued their strategy towards the client's house. In seconds, the group were already travelling through the trees heading for Fang Country.