11. Mission Complete

The first thing Naruto registered was a bright light. The blonde winced in pain, the light blinding him. Only after a few seconds when the light started to fade did the boy see or feel anything else.

Naruto realized he was lying on grass near a campsite located within a forest. To the far left of his peripheral vision, he could see a bridge, revealing to the boy where he was.

'Guess I'm still in Kusa no Kuni.' He noted. The boy then gripped his head for a second. 'Ugh, my head hurts. How long have I been asleep for?'

Naruto started to sit up. The boy was now simply sitting in the grass instead of laying down. With his new position, Naruto could now see where he was better. He also was able to see he wasn't the only one in the area.

Hinata and Shikamaru were standing by a tree near the boy. The two were engaged in discussion, having not noticed their friend wake up.

"Shikamaru-Kun, she's a nice girl. You should be nicer to her." Hinata informed her friend.

"Eh, she's nice. But troublesome." Shikamaru shrugged in response. "I'm nice enough already."

"But you could try and talk to her more. She's always trying to talk to you." She said.

"Yeah, to get information about Konoha. She's kind of fun to talk to at times, but I'm not interested in talking about the village every second." He replied.

"Heh, so Shikamaru's got a thing for Kurotsuchi?" Naruto asked, finally making his presence known.

Shikamaru and Hinata immediately stopped arguing with each other and faced Naruto. Both of them had a look of shock on their faces before excitement and relief came over them. They then rushed over to his side.

"Naruto-Kun, you're finally awake!" Hinata cheered with a loud smile. Naruto returned her smile and got up.

"Hey, be careful man. Don't stress your body that much." Shikamaru advised as he bended to help Naruto up further. The blonde just dodged his friend and stood up on his own.

"No need. I'm fine! I feel perfectly fine!" Naruto said before a frown crept on his face. "How long have I been knocked out if you guys are that worried for me?"

"About a little more than a day." A new voice stated.

The three Konoha genin then turned their heads to see both Anko and Han. Han was standing in front of a nearby tree while Anko was sitting on one of the tree's lower branches.

"Anko-Sensei! Han!" Naruto greeted with a wave.

"What's up Whiskers? Feeling okay? Anything wrong?" His sensei questioned.

"You too Sensei?" Naruto sighed. "Other then my head hurting a little, I'm fine!"

"You better damn well be. After all that rest, you should be fine for a while!" Anko noted with a laugh.

"Oh ha ha ha!" Naruto mimicked his teacher's laugh with a scowl. The scowl disappeared almost immediately when he saw the sleeping bags and the campfire. "Are we still by Tenchi Bridge camping out?"

"Correct." Han spoke up. "That fight with those men drained everyone involved: you and me in particular Naruto-San. When I woke up from my unconsciousness, your sensei and I agreed we would camp together for the next three days to give you time to wake up and for everyone to recover."

"…I see." Naruto shrugged. "What day is it now?"

"The first." Shikamaru answered.

"You actually woke up about three hours after Han-Sama." Hinata added.

Her words caused Han to sigh. "Please, don't call me that. I hate it when people give me honorifics. I only barely tolerate 'Sensei' from my students."

"Speaking of them, where are they? And Yen-San?" Naruto asked.

"Troublesome. You ask way too many questions." Shikamaru noted. Naruto scowled, causing the Nara to grin. Shikamaru had missed their daily banter. "Yen-San wanted to go on a walk, and they accompanied him since he needs to be watched. They'll be probably be back in an hour."

The blonde boy nodded in understanding.

"Naruto, I know you probably want to talk to Hinata and Shikamaru, but Han and I need to speak to you alone for a little bit. Won't be long." Anko said. Her students noticed that she didn't use their nicknames, meaning that they were going to talk about something serious.

"Okay." The Konoha jinchūriki replied before he turned to his friends. "Guess I'll catch up with you guys in a second! Be back soon!"

"Okay. Have fun Naruto-Kun!" Hinata said. Shikamaru only gave a wave in response.

With that out of the way, Naruto hurried over to the senseis. They then walked into the forest, ready to converse.

"So, those guys were attacking because of the Gobi?" Naruto asked out of clarification.

Both jōnin nodded.

"They outright informed me. I think they thought they would capture me and didn't bother to hide behind some lie. And they probably would have been able to capture me if you all didn't assist. Even with my students, the man I fought, Kakuzu, was tough. If I had to keep fighting both him and his partner at the same time, they might have been able to overpower me." Han admitted.

Naruto let the information sink before he sighed in relief. "Good thing we came then dattebayo! And also a good thing we got rid one of them!"

"Yeah, I'm not sure if that last bit matters much." Anko spoke up with a sigh. "Before the fight, Nasumareta, the guy we fought, mentioned something called Akatsuki. I think they may be part of a whole organization."

"They also seemed rather professional when I fought them both. I could tell they were fighting with the intent of knocking me out: not killing me. They had an agenda and seemed to follow it perfectly. I agree with Anko-San: those men were part of an organization." Han stated. "And I think it's safe to say that the other members of this organization are equally strong."

"…" Naruto seemed to get nervous about this information. "…what do you think they want?"

"They outright said they wanted the Gobi. If I had to guess, I'd assume they are targeting jinchūriki." The Iwa jōnin guessed.

Silence filled the air after Han's words. It was finally broken a minute after by Naruto.

"Well, then we just get stronger!" He declared. "I refuse to be captured by them! I'll keep training so when they come for me I can take them out all by myself dattebayo!"

"That's the plan." Han nodded in agreement. "We are targets. We must get stronger and be ready."

"Not just you guys!" Anko interjected. "I'm not gonna let some bastards get a hold of my student, or anyone for that matter! We all have to get stronger so we can kick their asses!"

"That's the spirit Sensei!" Naruto cheered. The mood seemed to have made turned around completely.

"Oh I wouldn't cheer if I were you Whiskers. Training will become ten times more brutal at least. Trust me when I say that." The tokubetsu jōnin replied, a sadistic grin developing on her face. Naruto immediately shut up, now afraid of whatever his sensei was planning.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance as well." Han said. "We have three days right now. I could teach Naruto-San on how to get better control of the Kyūbi's chakra."

Naruto's fear went away and was turned into excitement. The blonde beamed at Han before asking rather quickly: "You can do that?"

"Naturally. Us jinchūriki can draw power from our tailed beasts. I can currently use two tails of the Gobi without losing control." Han mentioned. "I'm uncertain how far we can get in just three days, but I can definitely give you a foundation that will help you get control of the Kyūbi and its chakra."

"If you both are going to train during these days, then you both better take it easy." Anko nearly ordered. "I wasn't going to start any training until we got back to the village. Everyone needs to rest for a while. You two in particular. Take it easy until you both are at one hundred percent."

"The training I have in mind won't take much out of us. You'll see." Han informed her.

Anko simply shrugged in response.

"Anyway, we have plenty of time. Go say hi to your friends, then meet up with me out here and we'll begin your training. Come back in an hour." Han told Naruto. The blonde nodded and was about to start running off. "…but before you go…"

Naruto turned back to Han and gave him a quizzical look. "Yes?"

"Those two friends of yours: cherish them and never leave them." Han nearly ordered. "They never left your side the entire time you were unconscious. They were always within hearing distance if you were to wake at any moment. You made good friends Naruto-San. I'd make sure you keep them."

Naruto looked completely surprised at Han's words. The last time he brought up his friends with the man, he gave a rather cynical speech on how they would turn on him. Now the man was telling him to never leave them. Then it registered what the man said: Hinata and Shikamaru had stayed by his side the entire time he was unconscious.

This surprise soon turned into pure happiness and excitement. "Don't worry, I never will dattebayo! Meet you back here in an hour!"

The blonde then ran back in the direction he came from. He waved to Yen and the Iwa genin, who were back now, and then immediately rushed to Hinata and Shikamaru. He then crushed both of them in a hug, causing all three to fall to the ground. Shikamaru gasped and Hinata nearly fainted.

Anko and Han watched from a distance. Anko burst into laughter at the sight while Han chuckled quietly.

"You've changed Han. A hell of a lot." Anko noted between her laughter.

"I suppose. My opinions on you humans haven't really changed per se: I've just found exceptions." He noted with a smile. In the back of his head, he was thinking of his own students as well as Naruto and his team.

An hour passed quickly. Naruto told his friends goodbye again before heading back out, deep into the forest. It didn't take him long to reach the part in the forest where Han and Anko talked to him. Anko was no longer there, but Han was. The Iwa jōnin was currently meditating in front of a tree.

Once Naruto had arrived, the man opened his eyes and gave the blonde a look.

"You're punctual. Roto could learn from you." He said with a sigh.

"Anybody could learn from me!" Naruto boasted proudly before he remembered that he was here to learn himself. "Um, anyway, how do we do this? How can I learn to control the Kyūbi?"

"You're interested. Good. Hopefully that means this lesson will stick, because I don't think you'll like it based on your personality." Han noted. "Now, Naruto, the key to obtaining control of the Kyūbi's chakra is meditation."

"…huh?" Naruto questioned in both confusion and disappointment.

Han sighed. "Let me ask you a question: when you summoned the Kyūbi's chakra in the fight, how were you feeling? What emotions were you feeling?"

Naruto put some serious thought into Han's question. His head was still hurting, affecting his memory a little about the incident. He did remember enough though. He felt completely useless and he saw nothing but red.

"…I was angry. Very angry. And I was nervous…nervous that my friends were going to die…" He voiced his thoughts.

The Iwa jōnin nodded in understanding. "You felt strong emotions. These emotions affect you and make it easier for the tailed beast to affect you. Sure, you'll get chakra, but this way results in you becoming little more than a puppet to the beast."

Naruto scowled at this. He did remember that clearly. He remembered how the Kyūbi attempted to kill Hinata. He was grateful he regained control of his body and he was going to do everything in his power to prevent that from ever happening again.

"Meditation will help you keep your emotions in check and help prevent the Kyūbi from taking advantage of your emotional state." Han explained, interrupting Naruto's thoughts. "Also, it will increase your mind and your internal strength. This is the strength you use to draw out the beast's power from within. If you can get your mind strong enough and your emotions calm enough, you'll be able to draw chakra from the Kyūbi with no risk of him taking over…provided that you aren't taking too much chakra."

Han then made a hand sign. Almost immediately his body was covered in red chakra and a tail formed. Soon, a second tail formed. Naruto took a step back in shock.

"As you can see, I have complete control right now. This is my limit: two tails of the Gobi's chakra. It is important that you discover your limit and only stay within it until you can push yourself further." Han explained before he released his hand sign. The chakra faded away almost instantaneously.

"Holy crap! That's so badass!" Naruto exclaimed. He then got into the position he saw Han in when he got to the forest. "So, meditation helps me do it? How do I actually meditate?"

"Close your eyes and relax. Free yourself from the world around you. Don't speak and don't move. Try and control your emotions and find your inner peace." Han advised. "The more you do this, the stronger your inner strength and your mind will be. This should also help with your focus, which can be useful when you're in a general battle as well."

Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. He took in a deep breath and exhaled it. Han watched over the boy in his meditation in curiosity.

Nearly a minute had passed before Naruto's eyes opened and a frown developed on his face.

"This is really boring…" He grumbled to himself before closing his eyes again, trying to meditate again.

Han couldn't help but face palm. 'This is going to take a lot of work…'

Han and Naruto spent the rest of the day working on Naruto's meditation. While the blonde had difficulties concentrating in the beginning, the two had made notable improvements. They quit for the day when Yen informed them that dinner was ready, telling each other they'd continue the next day.

Dinner was peaceful, especially in contrast to the night before the Akatsuki attack. Almost everyone chatted pleasantly amongst each other. Even Han spoke every few minutes, throwing out a few words or his opinions. Only Risho, who still refused to associate with the Konoha shinobi, was silent.

Near the end of dinner, Han decided to prepare tea. The man went away for a few minutes before coming back carrying a teapot and cups for everyone.

"…how you can carry all of that and not drop anything Han-Sensei?" Roto asked. "Do you need any help?

"No thanks. And I don't know…practice? It's not that difficult." The jōnin shrugged before he set the pot down. He then gave a cup to everyone and poured them tea.

'…first Sensei eats with us, then he actually talks and associates with us, and now he's made us tea! I don't know how it happened, but you've changed Han-Sensei…' Kurotsuchi noted mentally with a smile. Her teammates were thinking along the same lines.

They, along with the Konoha shinobi and Yen, then took a look at the cup of tea. There was a little steam coming out of it and the cup itself felt hot.

'…oh God…' Anko now remembered the tea Han was drinking when she first met him away from camp.

"I didn't have enough time to make it as hot as I prefer it, but I presume it should suffice." Han informed everyone as he took a large drink of his tea.

'…well I guess it isn't like that other cup. How hot can it really be?' Anko wondered as she took a sip. At the same time, everyone else took a small sip from their own tea.

…

"AHHH!"

Han immediately stopped drinking and looked around him.

Shikamaru, Hinata, and Yen were on the floor nearly unconscious with bright red faces. Naruto, Roto, and Risho were all running to get water canteens, shouting variations of "WATER!" Anko was already chugging her own canteen of water, trying to cool herself and her tongue.

"C-Come on everybody! I-It's not th-that hot…" Kurotsuchi stuttered, trying to keep herself calm. Her efforts were not working, however, as visible tears were falling down her face.

Han looked at the chaos around him caused by his tea. He then took a look at his tea before he took another sip.

"Hmm…a little cold." Han mumbled in disappointment. "It seems humans have weak tongues."

The jōnin then noticed Naruto was back. He had already chugged his water canteen and was now begging anyone for their water canteen. Han sweat dropped in response.

"…I stand corrected. It seems jinchūriki can have weak tongues as well." Han noted with a frown before he turned his attention back to his tea.

Dinner ended shortly after the incident with the tea. Everyone went off to do their own things. Naruto, Hinata, and Roto went together to go look for more firewood. Anko and Han went to go scope the surrounding environment for any threats to camp. Risho and Yen chatted together by the fire.

Shikamaru found a spot near the bridge that gave a good view of the sunset in the sky. He laid down on his back and started to watch. A few minutes into it, however, he was joined by another person.

"Room for one more?" Kurotsuchi asked with a grin as she laid down next to him.

"Ugh, troublesome." Shikamaru grumbled. "You can watch yes."

"You seem upset about that. Don't want me here?" She asked with narrowed eyes.

"It's not that. You're actually a pretty cool girl, especially compared to some that I know back home. But, I just want to relax right now-"

"All you ever do is relax, lazy ass!" She snapped, interrupting him.

"-and all you do is ask me questions about Konoha that you can ask anyone else." He replied, ignoring her interruption.

The Iwa kunoichi shrugged in response. "What can I say? I'm just curious about Konoha, considering every story you tell me is different from what I've heard about you guys."

"No, really?" The Nara asked sarcastically. "Considering our villages don't have the best relationship, that isn't surprising."

"I know that! So I like hearing what you guys have to say about your village. Especially you, because you don't sugarcoat your village and just say how you see it. I can actually believe what you have to say about it. You're blunt and I like that. And it actually sounds a lot like Iwa…just with fewer mountains and more trees." Kurotsuchi stated.

"Hmm..." Shikamaru accepted her response, now understanding why she always came for questions. A question of his own then entered his mind. "What are the clouds like in Iwa? Considering the mountains, you guys are probably a lot closer to them."

"Clouds?" She asked. "Yeah, they are a lot closer to us then they are here or probably in Konoha. It's kind of cool actually!"

"Hmm?" Shikamaru gave her a look.

"Well, if you go up high enough, it feels like you actually are in the clouds. There's one peak near the edge of the village that actually goes up past the clouds even!" Kurotsuchi noted. "It's actually really cool. Sometimes, if I go there, I feel like I'm flying!"

The Iwa kunoichi then released what she had said and immediately blushed before she turned away. "N-Not that I actually think about flying or anything. No, of course not! Because I know that's impossible!"

"Of course you don't." Shikamaru said with a smirk.

Kurotsuchi scowled and lightly punched the Nara heir in the arm. He grumbled before looking back up at the sunset. The girl's eyes followed suit.

"…so you do this all the time? Really? Just watch sunsets and clouds?" She asked.

"And stargaze at nights." Shikamaru added.

The two shinobi said nothing as they continued to stare at the sunset. This was the first time Kurotsuchi ever truly studied a sunset. She noted in particular how beautiful it was. It then dawned her that the sunsets in Iwa might be even better.

"…you know, this is pretty relaxing." She said.

"Heh, you're telling me." Shikamaru replied, his smirk on his face.

The two continued to stare into the sunset, no words exchanged between them. They both enjoyed the silence and each other's company. Both of them would never admit this, especially Shikamaru, but the two were actually starting to see each other as good friends.

Naruto, Hinata, and Roto were almost done with their search for firewood. The three shinobi had each collected quite a few pieces of wood. Only a few more pieces and they would be done. They were getting deep within the forest when Roto spotted something in the corner of his eye: a white flower with red dots on its petals.

"Ooh! Now this is something you don't see every day!" He noted as he examined the flower, putting his firewood to the side for a second.

Naruto and Hinata stopped their search and stared at the genin from Iwa.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't we still be finishing up with the firewood?" Naruto asked. He then looked at the flower curiously. "What's so special about that one?"

"It's poisonous! Very poisonous!" He stated excitedly as he took the flower. The boy then put it away in a pocket in his shorts. "Oh yeah, I can definitely make a poison out of it!"

"O-Or medicine." Hinata offered.

"Hmm?" Roto looked over at her strangely.

"W-Well, I mean if y-you neutralize the poison, that flower has a f-few qualities that are useful in medical creams." She explained.

"Hmm…" Roto took out the flower and examined it closer. "…yeah, you're right! I guess it could. Interesting!"

"Shouldn't you be more careful with the flower if it's that poisonous?" Naruto asked.

Roto scoffed in response. "Trust me, after you've dealt with as many poisons as me, you've pretty much picked up immunities to them all. And if I don't have an immunity to it, then I'm pretty sure I have an antidote somewhere!" He then turned to Hinata and smiled. "Didn't know you liked flowers that much. Most people don't see the practical value behind them."

"Oh I love them! I actually love to press flowers and I use some of them for medicine!" She said excitedly.

"You're not like a lot of girls I know…" Roto said as he stared at the girl for a second. A blush soon came on his face. "…not like them at all…"

Hinata failed to notice the blush on his face, but Naruto caught it. He also caught how much the boy had been staring at Hinata. He had occasionally stared at her throughout dinner. The blonde scowled. He didn't know why, but something about all the attention Roto was giving Hinata bothered him.

"We can look at the flowers once we are done. Let's get this firewood stuff over with first." Naruto stated.

Hinata nodded in agreement with her crush. Roto only sighed as he agreed, picking up his firewood.

The search continued only for a few more minutes before the three shinobi returned with plenty of firewood.

About an hour later, everyone ended up going to bed. Anko and Han rotated with the watch duty during the night. Day one was officially over.

The remaining two days went by similarly and quickly. By the third day, everyone was back to nearly one hundred percent. It was then time for both teams to leave.

"Alright: take two. Let's hope this time nothing happens when we separate!" Anko joked.

"Indeed." Han noted.

Yen walked forward and gave the Konoha shinobi a large smile before he started to speak.

"Anko-Sama, Naruto-Sama, Hinata-Sama, Shikamaru-Sama: thank you all. You've gone beyond what I paid for you! You are all extraordinary people and shinobi! I was truly blessed to have been given you as my escort!" The merchant thanked. "If any of you are ever in Tsuchi no Kuni, mention my name! Come by my shop and take whatever you want for free! My door will always be open for you all!"

"I think we'll remember that. I will at least!" Anko laughed. "It's been a pleasure Yen. Have a safe trip back and we'll meet again one day!"

"Yes we shall! Farewell!" He told them.

"Before we separate though: may I speak with Naruto-San in private?" Han asked.

Everyone looked at the Iwa jōnin strangely. They were in the process of leaving and now Han decides to have a private conversation? After a second, Anko shrugged. "Sure. Go right ahead."

Han walked off into the forest and Naruto hurried behind.

"You know, you all really like talking to me in private." Naruto noted teasingly. "What's up Han?"

"Well, I wanted to congratulate you on your success with meditation. You are making good progress." Han told him.

"Hmm? Oh, thanks." Naruto mumbled, a frown on his face. "But I still got a long way to go. I can't concentrate enough to draw out the power of the Kyūbi yet."

"But you are making progress. You've done a lot to increase your focus. I'm wondering how your next fight will go: your mind will be much stronger and your focus in battle with be stronger as well." Han noted. "I have a feeling you'll do well and get control of the Kyūbi soon!"

Naruto's frown turned into a grin. "Heh, thanks Han! Thanks for working with me! I'm sure I must have been a hard student."

"You have no idea." The man deadpanned before he pulled out a scroll from a pocket in his gi. "Anyway, as a gift for your progress, here's a scroll for a jutsu. I've had it for some time and it's pretty basic. It shouldn't take too long to learn."

The Iwa jōnin tossed Naruto the scroll. The boy caught it and immediately read the title of it.

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu?" Naruto read. "But I'm a wind type. Can I even learn it?"

"A ninja's type only affects what kind of jutsus are their specialty. Your wind jutsus will be more powerful and require less chakra, but that doesn't mean you can't learn other types of jutsus. It would actually be wise to learn others. It'll give you some variety in attacks." Han advised. "That jutsu is a D-Rank, so it shouldn't be difficult to learn. And I think it could add some tactics to your fighting style, especially with all of the clones you use."

"Hmm…alright! That's fine with me!" Naruto cheered. "Heh, next time you see me, I'll have this jutsu down!"

The boy then thought about the man in front of him. Han was a jinchūriki just like him and understood him in ways no one else could. The man had spent days working on his meditation in hopes of getting the boy able to control the Kyūbi. He had now given Naruto a jutsu to learn. Naruto had gotten to know the man well and had gotten kind of attached to him. And now he was leaving…

Naruto immediately rushed at the Iwa jōnin and gave him a hug. Han, in shock, returned the hug hesitantly.

"Thanks…thanks a lot Han-Nii." He told the man.

"Uh, no problem. Naruto-San, don't call me that. I hate honorifics." Han requested.

"Well too bad! I'm calling you it!" Naruto replied stubbornly, tightening the hug.

A couple of seconds passed before the two ended their hug and headed back to their respective teams. The Konoha shinobi and Iwa shinobi then headed on their separate ways.

'Han-Nii…well, whatever. I'm excited to see what kind of shinobi you'll be when I see you next, Naruto-Otouto.' Han thought to himself with a smile.

The journey back home to Konoha was peaceful and uneventful. Under normal circumstances, Anko would have complained about it. Considering the events that happened at Tenchi Bridge, she wasn't going to complain about peace for some time. For now, she was going to simply enjoy it.

Team Three got home faster than the trip to the bridge, considering they didn't have to slow down to Yen's speed. The four shinobi were excited to see the gates of Konoha.

"We're back! Finally!" Naruto shouted.

"It's good to be back home." Hinata agreed with a smile.

"Come on guys: Ichiraku has ramen for us! It's been far too long!" The blonde shinobi stated excitedly as he started to run off in the direction of his favorite place to eat.

As he was about to get out of sight, Anko raised her right hand. Snakes shot out of her hand and grabbed Naruto by his shoulders. The snakes then dragged Naruto back to his team.

"Whoa there Whiskers!" Anko stated with a laugh. "Trust me: I want nothing more than to get some dango right now. But first thing's first: after a mission, we have to go inform the Hokage about it. And trust me, we have a lot time to tell him."

Naruto frowned at his sensei's words before he started walking towards the academy and the Hokage's office, grumbling about ramen. Shikamaru chuckled and Hinata giggled at their friend's antics as they, along with their sensei, followed behind.

The four members of Team Three made it to the Hokage's office as quickly as they could. They walked in as another genin team left the office, most likely going on their own mission.

The Hokage noticed the team and had a smile on his face.

"Ah, welcome back Anko-San, Naruto, Shikamaru, Hinata." Hiruzen greeted the team. "How was the mission?"

"Well, the mission was a success. We'll start with that." Anko stated as she gave her leader the scroll she got from Han before the Akatsuki attack.

Hiruzen accepted it and filed it away.

"Then you'll have the money of the mission transferred to your account Anko. Pay your students accordingly when you get the money. Congratulations on your first C-Rank Mission!" He told everyone with a smile. After those words, his face got serious as he turned to Anko. "Based on what you said, though, you have more to say don't you?"

Anko laughed humorlessly. "Oh, you have no idea."

"Hmm…" Ōnoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, mumbled as he read the mission report.

Weeks ago, he sent the team in front of him on a simple escort mission featuring a brief encounter with Konoha shinobi. It seemed a simple mission on paper. The aged Tsuchikage was legitimately surprised when he read the report and saw it was otherwise.

'Attacked by missing ninja? Assisted by Konoha shinobi in the combat?' Ōnoki repeated the odd parts of the report.

He looked up from his paper and faced the team that went on this strange mission.

"Kurotsuchi, Risho, Roto: you three are dismissed. Han, I would like you to stay." He informed the team.

"Yes Tsuchikage-Sama!" Risho and Roto replied in unison.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. See you at dinner tonight Gramps!" Kurotsuchi replied.

"Show some respect for the Tsuchikage!" Risho exclaimed at his teammate's words while they walked out.

"He's my grandfather! I give him the respect he deserves, but I'm also going to call him what I want to call him!" The Iwa kunoichi retorted.

The two genin continued to argue loudly even after they left the room. Roto tried to calm his teammates down, but his efforts ended up failing.

Ōnoki sighed in response to genin while Han chuckled slightly.

"She's much more mature on missions and in battle. You have a strange effect on her." Han noted to his leader.

"Tell me about it!" Ōnoki sighed.

"Anyway, I presume you want to discuss the mission in more detail?" The Gobi jinchūriki asked.

The Tsuchikage nodded. "Yes. You were all vague with the report. Who exactly were these missning ninjas?"

"That's something I wanted to discuss with you actually if you've heard of them." Han informed him. "Their names were Kakuzu and Nasumareta."

"...I recognize them. Kakuzu is an S-Ranked missing ninja from Taki while Nasumareta is high A-Ranked from Kumo." The Sandaime noted with a frown. He didn't like the idea of two powerful shinobi like them attacking his shinobi.

"I believe they belonged to some organization called Akatsuki." Han added more information.

"Akatsuki?" Ōnoki's eyes widened in surprise. "I recognize that name. They're a mercenary group that I hired for some jobs here in there." The old man rubbed his head, the news seemingly frustrating him. "So those two missing ninjas are part of Akatsuki, huh? Why would they attack you? Why would they attack any Iwa shinobi?"

"They were after the Gobi." The Iwa jōnin answered simply.

Ōnoki's eyes widened further for a second before they narrowed in anger. He slammed his fist onto his desk, nearly breaking it. "Damn them! For their sake, they better not step foot in Iwa again asking for another job! I will personally murder them all!" He then took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down before speaking again. "…so you're telling me you were able to fight them off? And Konoha shinobi actually helped with this?"

"Correct. I'd go as far to say that without the Konoha shinobi, I'd have been captured." Han answered.

"…I see." Ōnoki frowned at the news, uncertain how he should respond. "…why do you think Konoha assisted? They shouldn't have helped. Based on the details of the mission, they already completed their part. They had no reason to assist and our villages in particular don't get along."

"They helped because they that saw we needed help." The Gobi jinchūriki replied. "And based off some conversation I had with the jōnin sensei, Mitarashi Anko, I believe Konoha wishes to mend the relationship between our villages."

Ōnoki's eyes narrowed again in suspicion. "Are you certain of this?"

"Yes. And to be honest, I feel like we might benefit from that." Han gave his opinion. Ōnoki's eyes widened again, especially once Han continued to speak. "The war has been over for over a decade. It's time we try and move past it for the sake of both of our villages. We are lacking in allies. Making an ally out of Konoha might be for the best. Besides, I owe them my life. I'd rather have no other village have my back."

"…your opinion is noted Han. You may leave." Ōnoki ordered.

Han nodded as he left the office, leaving Ōnoki alone to his thoughts. The aged Tsuchikage had heard a lot about Konoha: every bit of it contradicted what he knew from experience. He wanted to ignore Konoha's aid, but he couldn't. It also didn't help that Han, a shinobi that openly hates humanity, was speaking favorably of these Konoha shinobi and was requesting a better relationship with the other village. None of this made any sense to Tsuchikage!

Ōnoki needed a lot of time to think a lot about everything he heard.

The Gobi jinchūriki continued to walk out of the office and out of the mansion. As he stepped out and into the village of Iwa, he was stopped by an old man.

The man had red hair in a ponytail at the very top of his head. He also had a red moustache and a red beard. He wore a light red shirt and pants with a black mesh-armor underneath. He had a brown sash on his wait with a pouch attached to it. The man also wore an Iwagakure forehead protector over his head in the shape of a crown.

"Good afternoon Han! You were in there for a while. What questions did that stubborn mule for a Tsuchikage ask you?" The man joked.

"Good afternoon Rōshi. He asked me questions about my most recent mission, particularly how Konoha was involved with it." Han replied.

"Typical. Very typical." The man, Rōshi, said with a sigh. "Well, did anything interesting happen? Well, anything I would find interesting?"

Han nodded and actually smiled at the older man. "Yes. A few things you would. Especially considering I met another one of us."

Rōshi gave the man a surprised look before a smirk appeared on his face. "Oh? Another jinchūriki? Well I guess I am interested! Come on. Let's go get some tea: my treat. You're going to have to inform me everything about this."

Han nodded in agreement and the two men walked off together to a nearby tea shop, ready to engage in discussion of the most recent events in Han's life.

Eight silhouettes appeared on large stones surrounding a statue in the center. Seven of the silhouettes were staring at the ninth stone, noting that someone was not here.

"And look, Kakuzu returns alone." One of the figures stated with a laugh. His silhouette had a visible ponytail. "Kill off Nasumareta didn't ya?"

The former Taki shinobi glared in response. "He's dead yes, and if you keep pissing me off, you'll be next Deidara." Before the figure identified as Deidara could respond, Kakuzu turned his attention to the leader. "Nasumareta was killed in combat. The mission was not as any of us anticipated."

The leader's eyes narrowed on him. "Explain."

"The Konoha shinobi interfered in the mission: something none of us failed to take into consideration. One of those Konoha shinobi also ended up being Konoha's jinchūriki, the Kyūbi container. Nasumareta was killed by the Kyūbi jinchūriki. I was forced to retreat, as going against two jinchūriki and six other shinobi alone was suicide." Kakuzu explained.

The leader nodded in understanding at Kakuzu's words before he closed his eyes and thought to himself about the situation.

"Kyūbi huh? Isn't that our target Itachi-San?" Another figure spoke. The one speaking looked similar to a shark-human hybrid. "Heh, if he was able to kill Nasumareta, maybe he'll be a fun hunt!"

"You're hunt will have to wait Kisame." The leader spoke up as he opened his eyes and ended his thinking. "All missions involving testing or capturing the jinchūriki will be put on hold for now."

"Let me guess: with this mission against the Gobi a failure, both Konoha and Iwa will bring back news about the attack. This, in turn, will alert the other villages, putting them on guard against any threats to their jinchūriki." Another figure stated. He was a large figure with a gruff voice that looked almost metallic, even as a silhouette.

"That is correct Sasori. We are going to have to be careful for the next few months or so. I will inform you of all of your individual tasks." He stated before turning to face Kakuzu. "We have a new partner for you. Make sure you don't waste this one. And be careful Kakuzu. You in particular have probably generated a lot of suspicion. It should be expected that you'll be a target to the shinobi villages as a threat to their jinchūriki."

Kakuzu, if he was a weaker man, would have glared in response at his leader's words for reminding him of his failure and for the subtle insult about his failure. The man, however, was not a weaker man and knew he couldn't respond that way to his leader.

"Understood." He simply said.

"This meeting is dismissed. Await my orders." The leader informed everyone.

The silhouettes disappeared without a trace.