Talk about a long chapter! For me anyways. This is almost as long as Chapter 11 was, and this one probably took twice as much time to write. It was fun though! I thoroughly enjoyed writing this! It's so happy...

Just to clarify. I will not be forcing a pairing, I will not be focusing on romance, I will not be picking a pairing to happen prior to it happening. There is no guarantee it will even happen at all. Naruto HAS stated multiple times that he just doesn't think he can do it anymore, and that will be expanded upon by Naruto later. Where that takes our hero, who knows. Maybe he develops such a strong love for someone that he thinks its worth it. Maybe all his loved ones die. Maybe he just wants to be an old crazy cat guy. *shrug*

The main reason I brought up pairings is just because if you guys see one you are starting to like, you can PM me or something and say you see the chemistry going. Maybe I'm not even noticing it! I am kinda oblivious to that kind of stuff after all, heheh. It took me forever just to find out Black Widow and The Hulk even had a flirty thing going, thought they were just talking about someone else or something. Ah well.

Anyways, enjoy this chapter! I enjoyed writing it, I hope you enjoy reading it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Naruto had done a lot of training over the last thirty days. Over the month he had trained extensively with his Sage Mode, doing whatever he had to do to increase the amount of time he could remain in it. So far, this was mainly Gamikichi beating him with that stupid baton thing that Naruto despised so much.

Naruto had attempted to gather it while moving, to store some of the nature energy in a seal, to try and altogether increase the timeframe that he could remain in Sage Mode, and he even tried finding a way to make the toad oil transportable. That oil just brought a whole new set of problems, however.

In the end, the only option that really made any progress was trying to increase the amount of time he could remain in Sage Mode, which had gone from about five minutes to nearly six with a whole month of training. Of course, that wasn't a complete waste, a minute was a long time when you think about the prior amount only being five total. It also allowed him one extra Spiralling Shuriken, or Spiralling Shurikens, depending on his opponent.

Currently, Naruto was more focusing on his new technique, and so far, he absolutely needed Sage Mode to perform it. If he wasn't in Sage Mode, the technique wasn't dependable. Naruto chalked it down to he wasn't able to focus on his target as well, and couldn't sense it nearly as accurately as he could while in Sage Mode.

Still, it was better than not knowing the technique at all. It only made his Sage Mode that much more valuable. As the blond landed gracefully after testing the technique one more time, a hawk flew over the top of him, indicating a summon to Hokage tower. His golden eyes and orange eyeshadow gradually disappeared, revealing his naturally blue ones, before he dashed off from the training field.

Kakashi of course expected his student to enter from the window, just like his teachers always had. Already in the room were Sakura and Shikamaru, who were standing in front of the desk waiting for their teammate. Naruto gave a short wave and a small smile, but didn't say a word. That's how it had been for the most part over the month.

It was very noticeable to everyone that Naruto was much more quiet, much more reserved. It bothered Sakura that she hadn't even seen him at all since the mission had ended. He'd really walled himself off and buried his mind into training. It felt like she was left with no team, no comrades, for a whole month while she recovered from her knee injury. He hadn't even checked on her when she was in the hospital.

Even now Sakura needed to take a break from standing to rest her knee. It was healing, and she would be back to full strength within the next couple weeks with her healing, but it still was tedious. To think Naruto hadn't even thought to help her with her injury made her feel both selfish, and upset with him.

"Alright. Thanks, Sakura, Shikamaru. The two of you can go if you wish." The two were about to turn and leave due to their Hokage's dismissal of them, but they opted to stay and see why Naruto was summoned, if at all possible.

"Now then. Day thirty of your thirty-seven day break, how do you feel?" Kakashi asked Naruto.

Naruto bit his lip and looked to the other two, who had made it clear they felt the same way as him. "More guilty than anything, I suppose."

"Guilty?" Kakashi raised his brow before sighing. "Yeah, that can sum it up pretty easily." Naruto nodded, but snapped himself out of it, moving to stand between Sakura and Shikamaru.

"So, what's the mission I am getting, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked in an oddly awkward fit of excitement. Sakura frowned as she looked to the boy beside her. He was hardly recognizable, and she could see right through that emotional mask he was wearing.

Kakashi saw the same thing, and it only made him more confident in what he was about to do for Naruto. "Well, technically you still have seven days, but now that they are graduated and awaiting their team placement…" Naruto paused, his eye twitching as Kakashi held up an opened scroll with four names on it. "You are going to be the new sensei of Team 7!" Kakashi exclaimed with his signature eye smile.

Shikamaru and Sakura shared a brief sound of confusion that escaped their mouths, while Naruto blinked a couple times. "Naruto, you will be leading a team consisting of Kyza Inuzuka, Pomaru Nara, and Hanabi Hyuga!" Shikamaru rolled his eyes at hearing his little cousin's name. The kid would give him a run for his money in terms of laziness.

"Eh?" The small sound escaped Naruto, before the blond grimaced, his eyes going wide. "EHHH?" Kakashi only tilted his head, resuming his smile as a response. "I can't lead a team! I'm only sixteen! That's ridiculous I… I… I'm gonna get them hurt!" Kakashi's smile disappeared.

"You'll be doing D and C ranks, remember?" Kakashi reminded him.

"Yeah but look what happened with our first C rank!" Fair point.

"Naruto. I have faith in you. You will be a fantastic teacher." With that Kakashi slid the scroll across the table, a signature slot showing at the bottom of the paper. Naruto looked down at it, and read the names again, seeing a brief description of each student.

"I…" Naruto tried, but his voice caught in his throat. "What about my Sage status? What about the samurai I'm supposed to be commanding? What abo-"

"I'll take care of it, Naruto. You focus on this. Understood?"

"But, but Kaka-"

"Will you sign?" The authority figure slammed his finger over the slot that Naruto was supposed to sign. "Or do I need to find another sensei, one who will not be as strong as you are, and one who absolutely has a higher chance of failing them as a teacher. I am the Hokage, but I am giving you this mission as your teacher and as your friend. I am picking you as sensei because I have the unwavering faith that you will perform. Understand?"

Naruto bit his tongue, a warmth in his chest from his sensei's words. Naruto took a deep breath and reached for then pen, pulling the scroll closer to himself, he signed his initials onto the page. Kakashi smiled and rolled up the scroll, placing it onto a pile to his left. "Great. Seven days until you meet your team, got it? If you need help, just remember our first time meeting." Naruto nodded.

Sakura smiled as she watched her teammate realize that he was going to be a teacher. As the new responsibility seemingly sunk in, the blond turned to her and Shikamaru and gave a wide smile while scratching the back of his head. "Well, guess it's time for us to pass our knowledge down to the next generation then?" Naruto asked.

"Actually, I don't expect anyone else from our generation to become a sensei for at least another decade or so," Shikamaru thought out loud, smirking as he watched Naruto's face grow confused.

"Shikamaru is right, I think you might be the youngest Jonin-sensei ever, Naruto." Sakura agreed. Naruto turned back to his Hokage to see the man give a short nod, which made the young Sage return a soft smile.

"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei. I'll do my best, ya know?"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Yamato and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio sat on top of the cliff, giving them good overwatch of the surrounding area. They had arrived in the Land of Rain just hours ago, and were now scouting the designated mission area for this cannibal threat.

"Alright," Yamato began, the three ninja immediately turning their focus towards him. "This enemy will be difficult to find, and no doubt we may need to wait for them to claim their next victims in order to identify even a single target. Inoichi, I'll task you with scouting the surrounding area."

"Of course," Inoichi nodded.

"Shikaku, you and I will ask around the village just ahead, while Choza stays with Inoichi in the case that we get found out. Everyone understood?"

"Affirmative," the three sounded out in unison.

"Very well, let's get a move on."

Inoichi set his sights on one of the birds flying through the air above them, his mind reaching out and snagging one of them. Choza caught Inoichi's body and set him aside gently, keeping his eyes alert to everything around them. Inoichi then set off with his new wings, scanning the areas around the cliff first before branching out.

Yamato and Shikaku quickly set off to the nearby village. Yamato only hoped that they could find enough information on these cannibals before their mission resorted to using a victim as their source. The two began asking around for information on the threat to any villagers walking around town. Shikaku set off to one of the bars while Yamato talked to a few of the traders and merchants there.

Yamato only found one merchant that was worth talking to, a merchant wearing a blue shirt, his hair brown and his nose crooked. The man didn't know anything about their target, but he did provide useful information about the village and the surrounding area. The information was helpful, but not nearly enough.

The town wasn't large, but the populace seemed to be plenty enough, and the travelers and merchants would make it easier to hear about rumors of the Leaf's objective. As they moved from villager to villager, it became apparent to Shikaku that while most villagers had no idea who or what the threat was, the others were scared to leak any information.

Shikaku finally found a man at the bar that seemed somewhat willing to talk, but so far not by much. The man wore a blue robe with black stripes along the bottom, his face scarred but not enough to make him difficult to look at. "So… Do you know anything about them?" Shikaku asked with his usual drawl yet rough voice. The man had a drop of sweat run down the side of his face as he looked around at the bar's patrons before nodding slightly.

"Yeah, I know a thing or two," the man responded.

Shikaku poured the man a drink. "So, who are they?" The man took a quick drink before setting the cup down gently, still scanning the bar.

"They're called the Kyuketsuki."

"Pardon?" Shikaku questioned.

"The Kyuketsuki. You asked who, that's all I really know about who they are. Otherwise, I don't know anything about names, or who's in charge."

"In charge?" Shikaku repeated. The man nodded.

"Oh yeah. Other than that, all I can tell you is probably what you already know. They carve the faces off their victims, and it is rumored that they consume the rest of the body. They don't leave corpses."

"Is that so? What's their agenda, then?"

"Well, some say they just feed mindlessly. Others claim that they use the faces for infiltration, then just eat the bodies to eliminate any evidence of the person's murder, or even the person's very existence."

"They take their victim's identity." Shikaku confirmed.

"So some say."

"And how do you know all this?" Shikaku asked. The man frowned and turned his head, showing a scar following his hairline and down his jaw.

"They tried taking my face. The rest of the scars are from them trying to subdue me to complete the process."

Yamato, meanwhile, was busy talking to a boy and his mother. The boy had a large scar on the left side of his face, and as soon as Yamato had asked how he received it, the mother immediately claimed it was an accident from an abusive father. Normally, Yamato would feel for the boy, but something was off about it. The cut on the boy's face was perfectly around the kid's hairline. Too perfectly carved. It wasn't an accident by any means.

Yamato and Shikaku met at the village center, their eyes meeting with a similar concern. Yamato started talking first as they continued scanning the different villagers. "They're scared." Shikaku nodded in agreement.

"Based on what I have gathered, these are no mindless cannibals like the report led us to believe. They're organized," Shikaku stated, eyes still wandering. He caught the man from earlier walking away in his blue robe, then returned his attention to Yamato.

"What have you got for me, then?" Yamato asked.

"They're called the Kyuketsuki, they have a leader, people fear them even when they aren't around. They wear faces for infiltration, then rumor has is they dispose of the bodies by consuming the corpses."

"They take their victim's identities then?"

"That's what I was told." The two remained for a few moments, maybe even minutes as they continued looking at the different villagers wander. Shikaku again spotted the same man from earlier, walking into one of the shops and laughing with what appeared to be an old friend. From here it was hard to tell.

"Alright," Yamato sighed, the mission seemed to be tougher than anticipated. "Let's see what Inoichi has gathered, then we make the decision on what to do from there." Shikaku agreed as they quickly set off, unable to shake the chill that ran up their spine as they turned their backs on the town.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Inoichi's wings helped to scan the area around, seeing different camps in the distance due to the smoke from their fires, or taking to different villages to sit perched on top of a pole or such and watch the life of the villagers. Nothing was suspicious so far, with no signs of any destruction or anything out of the ordinary.

As he circled the bird around to make one more trip around, he spotted a small hut isolated off the road. It was below the cliff they were on top off, and surrounded by a couple trees that could make it difficult to spot from a certain angle. Inoichi sat the bird on one of those trees and began observing the home.

The windows were all boarded and the porch was a little banged up, leading the Yamanaka to believe this home was abandoned. He spotted a swing under the tree he was perched upon, and a toy leaning against the railing of one of the steps leading up to the porch. It was a sad sight, to see a home abandoned like this. Especially since it seemed to be in a hurry. He'd relay the information to Yamato soon.

As he flew the bird to check the perimeter that last time, he watched as a man with a blue cloak exited the village, a black pattern at the bottom of the robe. Inoichi deemed it enough to point out to his teammates when they returned, since the clothing stood out so much. If anything it could be a lead or a member of a clan.

Just as his mind left the animal, he saw Choza lend a hand to help him up. Inoichi accepted it with thanks. "I always wondered what it felt like to take over the mind of an animal with wings," Choza pondered as he helped his teammate up. Inoichi chuckled as he got to his feet.

"Honestly, you don't really feel the wings much. Mainly just feels like you've always been able to!" Inoichi explained, causing the big man to widen his eyes as if he was a child being told such a wondrous thing.

"Oh wow! I wish I could experience such a thing. I always used to wonder what butterflies felt like when they flew. They're so light!"

"Ha! And I wish I could experience growing into the size of a tower and wreak havoc upon my enemies!" Inoichi replied.

"Willing to trade?" Choza offered, making them both laugh.

As the laughs died down, they turned to see Yamato and Shikaku hop over to the two of them. "Confirmed a few things!" Yamato called out as he landed beside Inoichi.

"I saw a couple things, but nothing overly important. A man wearing blue robes left the village you both were asking around, and an abandoned house at the base of the cliff." Inoichi informed, seemingly piquing the interest of Shikaku.

"I asked that man a few questions, he was able to answer a couple things, but not much." The Nara pitched in.

"Right, so what we have so far isn't much, but it's what we've got. First, the enemy is called Kyuketsuki. Rumors are they steal the identities of others by carving the faces, and then consuming the bodies to eliminate any evidence of the victim's death." Yamato stated.

"Ew, sounds extreme," Choza shuddered.

"Quite," Shikaku piped in. "As for this… Kyuketsuki. They seem to be organized, smart, and not savages like the report suggests. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the whole consuming corpses bit was an exaggeration, or even just a full on rumor."

"And if they are organized, we may need backup." Yamato stated. "So for now, let's stick to gathering intel as Lord Sixth ordered, and then get that information back to the Leaf. Clear?" The other three nodded.

"Let's move," Shikaku grunted as the group took off towards the road.

Before they could get far, Yamato noticed the boy from earlier, along with his mother, walking away from the town. Yamato ordered his team to stop as he stepped toward the duo. "Ma'am, son, may I ask why you seem to be leaving so urgently?"

The woman hesitated, tugging at her sleeves uncomfortably while the boy just looked up to the ninja with awe. "We were just heading home, we live in the outskirts," the woman responded nervously. Yamato narrowed his eyes as the woman picked at her clothing.

"Right, with the rumors we have been hearing, I don't suppose you would mind an escort then?" Yamato persuaded. The woman shook her head violently.

"No, no need. We make this trek often and fall into no trouble. Ninja would draw us unwanted attention." True, perhaps. Still, Yamato felt that something was off. With that in mind, the wood style user knelt down and looked at the boy eye to eye.

"What's your name, son?"

"Kenja! Kenja Arodiju!" The boy responded with a cheesy grin and enthusiasm that reminded Yamato of his own teammate, Naruto.

"That's a great name. Kenja. I like it. So, Kenja. Do you know how you got that scar?" Yamato prodded. The boy nodded for a moment before the mother interrupted.

"That's hardly appropriate! They scarred my son! Come Kenja!" She began walking away with her boy, a sash of blue showing from the sleeve she had been tugging at.

"They?" Yamato questioned. The woman paused, her body still as Kenja looked up to her inquisitively. "I assume you had multiple fathers then, Kenja?" The boy gave his mother an unsure look before shaking his head no to Yamato. "I see." The boy turned back around to the ninja.

"Daddy is nice to me. He keeps the men away that did this," Kenja started.

"Enough, Kenja." The mother pleaded.

"The men?" Yamato probed.

"Kenja…" The mother warned.

"They came to hurt me, but daddy protected me. He said he showed them who's boss!" Kenja continued with a proud look, puffing out his chest.

"Boss, huh. Do you know who wanted to hurt you?" Yamato watched the woman with the eyes of a hawk.

"They wore blue." The boy said.

Shikaku's eyes widened as the words left the boy's mouth, men in blue robes circled around them instantly. Black stripes leading up to the waist of their clothing. "I didn't keep seeing the same man, you didn't see the same man…" Shikaku figured out as he looked from man to man. They had shown up in an instant, this was organized. She had warned them somehow, the mother had. "I saw them all." Shikaku narrowed his eyes as he turned in a circle, counting eleven men in the robes.

Shikaku's eyes stopped on the one he had conversed with earlier. The man with the scar down the side of his face, just like the boy. "Daddy!" Kenja called out, and the man gave a smirk, his eyes never leaving Shikaku. The Nara turned to the young boy, seeing the mother tear off her outer clothing, revealing the blue clothing underneath.

Yamato and his team backed into each other, each looking in a different direction as the men encircled them. "We are Kyuketsuki, my name is Souma Arodiju, and I do believe you've been poking around the wrong land."

Shikaku narrowed his eyes as he brought out a kunai. They were going to have to fight their way out of this one. "I find it odd that even though this village sent out a mission request, no one was willing to talk. I assume you sent the request to the Leaf?" Souma grinned wickedly, his fingers twitching in anticipation.

"Kyuketsuki has taken it's time in growing. We've waited for the right moment to show ourselves to the world, and with the world on the brink of war it is our time to take advantage." Souma said.

"Advantage? To attain what goal?" Yamato inquired.

"To further our purpose in this world. It is simple really. We wish to achieve the power our god has hinted to us!" Souma hinted with the same wick grin.

"Your god?" Yamato continued to question.

"Why, yes. He granted us the taste for flesh, the power to steal the lives of others! Not just in killing, but in stealing their livelihood! Bedding their wives, fathering their children, learning the secrets of those around them! Just as I intend to learn the secrets of your precious Hokage." Souma licked his lips as the group began to step forward, tightening the circle around the Leaf squad.

"Deranged, and sick," Yamato insulted, his disgust apparent in his tone.

"Perhaps, but in this world, what power doesn't come with a cost?" Souma frowned. "The cost for our power, as of now, is stealing your face, Captain Yamato." Shikaku's eyes widened. He knew Yamato? No, he was toying with them. He had information on Yamato, which was maybe worse. "And I can't forget the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio. I suppose it is a bit sad that… Ino…" Inoichi's eyes widened. "Choji," Choza did the same. "And Shikamaru," Shikaku growled. "May never know the truth to their new daddies. Shame."

At seeing the shock on the three faces, Souma smirked. "Oh come now, we do need to somewhat know those whose lives we steal. Though, the ritual does help with a lot of that." A dome of wood encircled the Leaf team as the robed men all disappeared from their sight.

"Quick, tunnelling an escape route!" Yamato informed the team as he went through hand signs and put his hand in the dirt. The floor beneath them opened up and they quickly dashed through, hearing an explosion rock the dome above them in the process. "Just keep moving, we now know this is a mission that we need backup on! Priority one, at least one of us gets to the Leaf and informs Lord Sixth!"

"Affirmative!" The three responded as Choza turned, expanding his arm and punching the side of the tunnel. The earth around them shook as debris and rubble covered their path behind them. It wouldn't by much time at all, if hardly any, but it was better than nothing.

Yamato closed his eyes as they continued running, and listened intently as he heard footsteps from the ground above them. "Alright, changing course," Yamato informed the team as he went through the hand signs again, causing the tunnel to open up even more, instead heading left.

Yamato listened again as he heard the footsteps lessened by maybe half. "Okay, it appears the team split up. They heard the tunnel split off but it seems they don't know which way exactly. We'll do it one more time before getting back to the surface. That should give us a fair fight and allow half our team to escape."

"Only half?" Inoichi questioned.

"The other two need to delay before following. We should make it out okay as long as we follow Yamato's plan." Shikaku explained. "Speaking of which, Yamato, you should send a clone the other direction when we split off again, have him perform the tunneling technique once more to throw them off before we surface."

"It will take a bit of chakra, but it should be effective enough to be worth it," Yamato agreed, a wood clone separating itself from the original's body. "You know what to do!" The clone nodded in response. Yamato performed the technique once more, the clone splitting left as the team split right.

"Good, that should make the numbers in our favor when we surface!" Choza called out. Yamato heard his clone split the tunnel off in another direction and took it as his queue.

"Surfacing in five seconds!" Yamato informed his team, who all sounded off in response. "Three, two, one, surfacing!" The Leaf ninja all jumped up, Choza and Inoichi landing first and turning around to face two incoming opponents. One opponent had white hair and white symbols for war under his eyes, while the second had red hair and a piercing on his left nostril. Shikaku and Yamato landed next and continued running East towards the Land of Fire.

"Expansion!" Choza shouted as his limbs lengthened considerably. He pummeled his fist into the ground between the two Kyuketsuki pursuers. The two easily dodge, but Inoichi was quick to appear beside the white-haired one and put his hand on the man's head. Inoichi smirked as his opponent staggered at the intrusion of his thoughts, allowing Choza to swipe his fist across the terrain and slam into the stunned white-haired Kyuketsuki, launching him yards away.

The second Kyuketsuki went through a couple of hand signs, a torrent of rain appearing from his mouth. At first the two Leaf ninja didn't attempt too hard to dodge it, but quickly evaded as the rain began to burn the two of them. "Water Style: Acid Rain." Their opponent said calmly. Choza sent his enlarged hand underground while Inoichi set his mind transfer above the opponent.

Choza's fist erupted from the ground under the Kyuketsuki, causing the man to jump. Inoichi smirked as the man flew directly into the path of the mind transfer, and Inoichi felt triumphant as he gained control briefly. He then felt an immense pressure in his cheek as the mind transfer returned to his own body. Inoichi returned to himself flying through the air as the first opponent had returned to the battle and delivered the punch.

Choza growled and sent his fist flying back towards the white-haired one, only to feel the repeated pain of the burning rain against his side. Choza backed off, leaping back towards his teammate. "Think we delayed them long enough?" Choza asked.

"Yeah, start peeling off. I'll go first then back you up," Inoichi replied, getting a nod from Choza. The Akimichi enlarged both fists and began to clap his hands together, aiming to catch both of his opponents in one attack. The red-haired opponent focused his acid rain on one of Choza's hands, causing the large man to wince as he felt the burning sensation multiply. The man then jumped through Choza's hand and adjusted the rain to fly towards Choza's body.

The white-haired opponent simply punched Choza's hand, not stopping it but slowing down his hand greatly so it was easy to dodge out of the way. Choza growled as he sent his fist into the ground, creating a shockwave and a cloud of dirt. The Akimichi took the opportunity to fall back, passing Inoichi's position.

Inoichi had set up traps at his spot, allowing the Akimichi to fall back further than he did. "Good, now we can repeat the process until they slip up enough to allow both of us to get out of here," Inoichi thought out loud as he watched the two enemies grow closer. "And…" His fists tightened. "Now!" He pulled his arms back, causing shuriken of all sizes to erupt from the ground behind the Kyuketsuki.

Both opponents turned to see the newly sprung trap, then quickly sprinted towards Inoichi, who grinned. He sent chakra into the strings he was holding, making the shuriken spin faster as they grew dangerously close to the enemy. The white-haired one growled as he jumped behind his teammate and grabbed a couple of the shuriken out of the air. Inoichi paused as he saw the man keep the momentum of the shuriken going, throwing them around his own teammate and toward the Yamanaka.

"Damn it," Inoichi growled as he saw the two shuriken grow closer. Inoichi fluidly dodged out of the way, only to take a strong hit from a blast of water. Inoichi could feel his strength weakening with each small hit from a drop of water he took, and felt clumsier than before as he started to peel back behind Choza.

"No use running, Yamanaka! You're low on chakra, aren't you? Not many can take much more from Raiza's water style! Hahaha!" The white-haired one shouted. Inoichi grimaced as he realized the one known as Raiza had a water style that seemed to suck away the chakra from the one it makes contact with.

"You get it now, then?" Raiza asked as the two grew closer to Inoichi and Choza. The latter stepped in front of Inoichi as he again made his arms grow larger. "My water erodes through chakra like a river erodes through the Earth. It chips away at the terrain, taking away those bits and pieces of dirt, dust, rock, whatever it comes into contact with." Inoichi then looked to the ground to see the water that had hit him return to Raiza like a small branch of rivers. It all led back to Raiza, who seemed to almost be absorbing it like a sponge.

"And now your chakra belongs to me." Raiza stated confidently.

Inoichi ground his teeth as he could practically see the newfound energy radiating off of Raiza, but smirked to try to play his bluff. "Ha, explaining your ninja skills. Always the wrong move."

Raiza rolled his eyes and formed a new set of hand signs. "Water Style: Steaming Mist!" Clouds formed over Choza and Inoichi, before descending quickly and slamming into the ground around them, creating a hot mist that burned their eyes if they tried to open them.

"Damn it! Inoichi, I can't see anything!" Choza called out. The two awaited an attack as they rubbed their eyes, trying to navigate their way through the mist, but no attack came.

"Heh. Shadow Possession complete." Choza and Inoichi were able to open their eyes. They looked up to see Shikaku off to the side under the shade of a lone tree, his shadow branched out and connected to the two Kyuketsuki. "Shadow Str-" Shikaku stopped and looked to the side as two more members landed beside him. Choza's fist shot by the Nara and pushed the two arrivals back, giving Shikaku time to fall back to his teammates.

"Raiza, Zenji, have you been having trouble?" Souma called out to his members. Raiza and Zenji, the white-haired ninja, both quickly shook their heads. "Good, Tinsin, let's finish this quick yeah?" The dark haired man beside Souma frowned and gave a brief nod in response.

"If I must," Tinsin replied.

"Shikaku, I trust you have a plan?" Inoichi asked hopefully. Shikaku grunted, nodding his head as his eyes swapped between the four attackers.

"A plan of escape before more get here. Here's what I got…"

Moments passed until Souma rolled his eyes and dashed forward. "You think I'll give you time to formulate a plan? Nonsense!" He shouted as he sped through a few hand signs. "Lightning Style: Restraining Pillars!" Four pillars of pure electricity shot from the sky above them, slamming into the ground with a resounding boom. The pillars are fired off an arc of electricity, all four meeting right in the middle over the Leaf ninja. As they met, they fired off into the ground, turning the team to ash.

"Heh, those fools gave you trouble?" Souma chuckled.

"Well, maybe not my best trick…" A voice sounded off from the shade of the tree. The Kyuketsuki ninja all turned their heads to see the Nara sitting tight, leaning against the tree trunk. "But, it fooled you. Guess it will do." With that said, Shikaku vanished into the shade of the tree, before shadow tendrils shot out towards their targets.

"Damned Nara!" Souma shouted, the four dodged the tendrils that aimed to keep them occupied as they chased off in the direction the Leaf ninja were previously headed. "Raiza, Zenji, branch left and grab their attention when we get close. Tinsin, we'll throw the finishing blows."

"Yeah…" Tinsin replied.

"Got it," Raiza sounded off.

"We'll handle it!" Zenji called out.

The four split back into groups of two, leaving the prior battlefield vacant. The shadow tendrils died down for a moment, before quickly picking back up with the intent to stall as several more figures passed along the terrain.

Shikaku watched out of the corner of his eye as his two teammates followed close behind him. They had escaped for now, but there were at least twelve members. The other eight had to be getting closer, and the four they had just fought weren't far behind. They still weren't aware of just how powerful this enemy is, nor how many there actually are.

"You know, that group is dangerously similar to the Akatsuki," Inoichi pointed out. Choza nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. Makes sense, as this is essentially where Nagato created the Akatsuki, according to Naruto." Shikaku added. "There were bound to be some copycats, or influenced groups due to the Akatsuki's terror."

"Sure, but they don't seem to have anywhere near the same ideals or goals as the Akatsuki. What was that about their god or whatever?" Choza inquired. "What power could they be hoping to grow?"

As the three pondered it, they were shook out of their thoughts by the white-haired taijutsu specialist from earlier. "Miss me!?" The man shouted as he leapt towards them. Choza reacted first, spinning around and enlarging his leg, giving Zenji a swift kick to the side.

"Damn!" Shikaku cursed. "I didn't think they would catch us so fast! Just what is up with these guys?"

"Shikaku!" The Nara heard. Shikaku turned toward the sound of footsteps and received a strong punch to the jaw before he could even see his opponent closing in. Choza watched in awe as Tinsin took the Nara out in one blow, putting him out cold. The Akimichi roared and threw his heavy fist, doing the same damage to Tinsin.

Tinsin flew across the landscape, slamming into a rock formation and slumping down slowly. The Kyuketsuki foe stood up lazily, no emotion on his face. "How inconvenient. Now, you've annoyed me." Choza's eyes widened as Tinsin flew towards him with the same speed he had flown toward the Nara. Inoichi reacted quickly, throwing together a lofty amount of hand signs faster than he ever had.

Still, the hand signs did not come fast enough, and Inoichi watched as Choza was sent flying the same way Shikaku had. Inoichi finished the last hand sign and made eye contact with Tinsin. "Mind Shatter Technique!" Inoichi shouted out. Tinsin paused as a drop of blood dripped down from his nose. Inoichi turned his attention toward his teammates, who were returning to their feet, only to earn a punch to the back of his ribs from Souma.

"Damn, Ino-Shika-Cho trio. You were both disappointing and surprising. I expected different. No more, no less, just different." Souma sighed as he put his elbow into Inoichi's neck, causing the Yamanaka to growl out as he fell over. "Still, this was a good test for my men. Now I just know that they need to be stronger."

Inoichi kicked the Kyuketsuki leader's feet out from under him, diving on top of him and staring into his eyes. "Mind Transfer Technique," Inoichi muttered out, taking control over Souma's mind. Inoichi quickly retracted his mind into his own body, his eyes wide in both fear and surprise. "That's, wrong…"

"Oh?" Souma grinned. Shikaku's eyes widened as he felt a thought go through his mind. Souma again buried his fist into Inoichi's jaw, throwing the Yamanaka off of him. "The three of you… This is the end of the line." Souma glared as he put a kunai into Inoichi's gut, making him scream out in pain. "You were a good test, but Kyuketsuki must remain low profile. You were poking around, so we humored you. Now, it is your time."

"Well, low profile isn't something you can afford anymore I'm afraid," Shikaku interrupted. Souma rose an eyebrow, but didn't make any movements. "You see, you were so focused on catching us, on making sure you performed against us three, you've forgotten our Captain, who is long gone now."

Souma grimaced, how had he forgotten that? "Every move I made with my team was designed to get Yamato back to the village with as much intel as possible. No doubt he would give us a large fighting boost, but we couldn't risk it. All the shadow play. All the battle, all the stalling, all the entrapment. It was all designed to make you focus on me."

Souma sighed. So that's why everything seemed so simple coming from a legendary trio. "You decided early on it was a fight you could not win, or barely even run from. You kept your tactics simple, but complex enough to occupy me and keep me confused?"

"Exactly. You expected more every step of the way. It kept you wondering what I had up my sleeve, didn't it? I stalled using simple techniques that made you believe I was building up to something, and it took up your thoughts so much you forgot about Yamato. If I had come and outright sprung traps for you, it would've been what you expected, your mind wouldn't have been as hesitant and occupied. Our mission was to stall you, not do the impossible and face you head on." Shikaku explained thoroughly. Souma growled at the genius plan, but he still had something on his side.

"Congratulations, you fooled me. Yet I don't see how that saves your teammate."

Shikaku furrowed his brows and took a step forward. "Well, that's where I drop my stalling tactics. You see I-" The Nara stopped as he saw eight more figures land around the remaining team of three.

"Ah, now my pursuit tactics have at least paid off a little. No doubt your plan would have backed me into a corner. I don't, however, like to take such chances. Surrender or-" Souma paused as one of his men started screaming. "Touya, what is it?"

"Rookie? What's going on?" Zenji stammered out. Shikaku looked to Inoichi to see the man's body go limp. Tears nearly brimmed out of the Nara's eyes before he quickly grabbed Choza and backed off from the Kyuketsuki. "Rookie?" Zenji repeated in a nearly panicked voice. The rookie shouted out one last time before his head burst open, spilling guts and brains all over his allies. "Eugh! What the hell?"

Souma narrowed his eyes as Inoichi used the moment to kick away from the leader. "Guess my gamble paid off, the young one wasn't as powerful."

"That… Was a mistake." Souma growled.

"Maybe, but probably not." Inoichi went through a couple hand signs before slamming his palms into the ground. "Burial Fields!" Flowers began to sprout from the ground around Inoichi, their vines sharp and their petals moving violently as if they were hungry. "Mind Twitch!" One of the blue cloaked men twitched abnormally as if his brain itself had twitched out of control, hurling a kunai at his teammate. The teammate took the kunai in the shoulder and shouted out.

"Why you!" Souma shouted as he charged towards Inoichi. The flowers around the Yamanaka all sprung up and entangled themselves around Souma, immobilizing him. Zenji roared out as he began to sweep through plants, but just like Souma, they quickly entangled him. Inoichi felt his strength draining fast as Acid Rain began to pour along the plants. Raiza's rain clearly had an effect on Inoichi's technique.

Just as Inoichi went through another set of hand signs, he felt a swift kick in his ribs from the side. Inoichi winced harshly as he looked up to see Souma standing above him. He looked back up towards where he was just entangled and saw nothing there at all. The plants were just fighting each other. Ino sighed and closed his eyes, knowing of one last technique he could pull off before he was finished off. It would take all he had to pull it off at such a long range.

"You have angered me quite enough. I will not resort to wasting any more energy on you," Souma stated monotonously. Inoichi ground his teeth together and squeezed his fists tight, his mind going into complete focus as he surged all chakra to his own mind.

Souma hesitated as he could feel the chakra course through the Yamanaka's mind, stepping back slightly as Inoichi began to let out a roar. "INO!" Inoichi screamed throughout the battlefield. Souma blinked at the outburst, then frowned. The leader of Kyuketsuki let out a sigh as he slid his kunai along the already exhausted Inoichi, who was already going limp from chakra exhaustion.

"Dad?" Inoichi heard in his mind. The father smirked. So the connection was made. And with hearing that small little voice of his baby girl, hardly different to him in this moment than the cries she let out the day she was born, Inoichi allowed himself to pass.

Souma shook his head in disappointment. "Leaf Ninja…" He mumbled out. "Far too soft for this line of work, it seems. Pathetic." He dropped the corpse to his feet and delivered a solid kick to Inoichi's cold jaw. "Come, we're leaving." Souma ordered, his men all falling in and returning home. "Bring the body."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ino sighed as she tossed yet another pair of clothing back where she found it. "Good grief, Naruto. I swear nothing looks good on you." Naruto's shoulders slumped as she went through more and more ninja attire. A minute ago she had said that purple could look good on anyone, especially a blond, but the moment she held it up to Naruto she immediately feigned puking. While Naruto generally was a tough kid, he couldn't help but hang his head in shame at that insulting gesture.

"Ino, come on. You're just hurting my feelings more and more…" Naruto grumbled.

"Oh come on, grow up Naruto. You have women that would kill to get you into a bed right now, don't take my words too seriously! Besides, you know I'm a Sasuke kinda girl!" Naruto's lip shaped into a sort of disgusted shape as he watched her go through another set of clothing.

"Right. One of those." Naruto insulted under his breath, but Ino took it as a compliment.

"Mhm! Now help me out, didn't you say you wanted to look presentable for your new team?" Naruto sighed as he walked forward towards his fellow blond, only for pink hair to show up in front of his nose.

"Here! Try this!" Sakura held up black ninja attire very similar to that which Shikamaru wore. It was different in a few ways, primarily being the burnt orange trim lining the stitching and emblems along the shirt. "This'll go great with your cloak too!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes closed and her head tilting to the side.

"I hate shopping," Naruto murmured but grabbed the clothing regardless.

"Oh, also!" Sakura added tape to the pile of clothing she just handed Naruto, tape that was the same color as the burnt orange as on the ninja uniform. "There! Try all that!" Naruto only nodded as he drug his feet towards the dressing stall.

Ino walked up to her pink-haired friend with a smug smirk on her face. "You know, I just can't help but notice how he always listens to your advice, but shrugs mine off like it's nothing!" Sakura blushed lightly but just shrugged her shoulders.

"We've known each other for a long time, he trusts me."

"Ah huh. I've noticed."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, you know. I've just noticed how much time you spend with him now. Even going so far as to… Oh, I don't know. Sleep at his place?" Ino raised her eyebrows suggestively.

"W-w-what? N-no! Shikamaru does to! It's just convenient! And I don't stay the night or anything!" Sakura continued to stammer on while Ino watched amusedly.

"Yeah, yeah. Billboard Brow, you can make all the excuses you want. Just face it, you two are close. Which means, of course, that Sasuke is all mine!" Ino giggled. Sakura frowned in response.

"How can you even bring him up like that? It isn't a game… Naruto… is here. With us. For us. Sasuke couldn't hold a candle to him." Ino tilted her head to the side curiously.

"What? Wait, really? I knew you got closer, but that's… Really?" Sakura turned her eyes away, not saying anything. "Wow. Had to get all mature on me, huh?"

"What? Anyways, you're not one to talk! You hogged Naruto all week!" Sakura retorted. Ino's vein popped out from her forehead. "In fact, Naruto even went so far as to say that you kept catching him when his new technique failed! Getting handsy with my teammate, Ino-pig?"

"W-what!? Please, with him? As if! What could I-"

"As if what?" Naruto piped into the conversation from beside them. Both girls turned to look at him and grew a large blush. The clothing fit tight against him, and the orange bandages ran up along his ankles and wrists, pinning the clothing to his arms and legs. The burnt orange was perfect on him, bringing out his character and his hair both. Unlike other standard ninja attire, this shirt still had a collar that went up to his neck, similar to his jacket.

"As… as if… As if… As if… You weren't… Naruto…" Ino murmured, causing Naruto to give her a confused look, his left eye squinting while his right brow rose.

"Ah… Ino?"

"It's probably just… Well that… Maybe you changed… clothes." Sakura pitched in, her cheeks red.

"Um… Yeah. You told me to, ya know?" Naruto questioned. What the hell was going on? "Sakura are you feeling alright? You're looking kinda sick." Naruto pressed his knuckles against her forehead to see if she was alright.

Sakura stepped back, stuttering nonsense as she raised her fist, but quickly lowered it as she continued blushing. "I-i-i-idiot…" She muttered quietly.

As the three exited the store, Naruto actually excited for a change at his new clothes, they began walking towards their respective homes. All three were travelling together for now, as they lived somewhat in the same direction, save for Naruto who was just making sure they were alright for now.

Sakura and Ino continued talking about random things that Naruto didn't particularly care about. He wasn't much of a fan of girl talk, and most of the time he didn't understand it. Especially for a lack of trying.

"Dad?" Ino sounded out, disrupting Naruto from his thoughts.

"Eh? Your dad is here?" Naruto asked confusedly. He took a quick glance around to see nobody that was even close to resembling Ino.

"I… my dad just talked to me, using our clan technique. But… He's out on a mission right now. There's no way he could reach out to me from so far." Ino explained.

"Well, maybe he's home?" Sakura wondered. Ino shook her head.

"Maybe…" Ino looked down at her feet for a moment. Naruto furrowed his brows and grabbed Ino by the arm gently.

"Come on, let's go ask Pervy-Hokage, yeah?" Naruto suggested. Ino nodded her head as the three quickly hopped their way up to the window of the tower.

Kakashi never even had to look up from his book to notice Naruto, Ino, and Sakura entering through his window. Shikamaru leaned up from the couch and groaned. "All three? Here? Now? Same time? Why?" He grumbled to himself.

"Naruto, why don't you ever just use the door?" Sakura growled out to the blond. Naruto chuckled sheepishly but regained his serious face.

"Why are you three here? Thought Naruto wanted to look presentable for his big day later this week," Kakashi said.

"Do you not see what I'm wearing?" Naruto muttered with an annoyed tone. Kakashi looked up from his porn to see a boy that looked much more mature, and much more like his father.

"Wow. You look much more attractive in that." Kakashi complimented simply. Naruto deadpanned, staring at his former sensei with a disgusted look.

"I'm not convinced you aren't after me, you perverted man," Naruto grumbled.

"Easy, good looking," Kakashi teased, making Naruto wince. "Now, what brings you here?"

"Right," Naruto started. "So Ino said she heard her dad out of nowhere, but he's gone so that doesn't make any sense, so Sakura said maybe he's home but he's not and we were in the middle of the village anyway so it still doesn't make sense because we weren't at Ino's house so I'm like what the hell, ya know?" Kakashi's eye lidded all the more lazily than usual, while Shikamaru just groaned as his genius brain tried to translate the words in a language he could understand. Unnecessary work didn't sit well with the Nara.

"Excuse me?" Kakashi asked, confusion evident. Ino sighed and stepped forward.

"My dad, is he home?" Ino asked in a desperate, hopeful voice.

"No. He's in the Land of Rain, why?" Kakashi prodded. Ino flinched, that's what she was worried about.

"It's just. For him to use our clan technique from all that way would take an insane amount of chakra without a source to help boost that signal… I'm worried." Ino admitted. Kakashi nodded, that made way more sense. "And to make matters worse, all he said was Ino, and when I responded, it was like nobody was listening. Like he was… Gone."

Kakashi closed his book, tapping the corner of the cover against the desk. "Hm. It's probably nothing, Ino. Why don't you go home and rest, alright? If anything is wrong, I'll take care of it." The Hokage gave her an eye smile, but she didn't feel much better about it. Maybe a bit.

"But, Kakashi-sensei, if something is wrong we should do something! If Ino thinks something is wrong, send backup!" Ino looked to Naruto in surprise after hearing his small outburst.

"Naruto…" Kakashi began, but Naruto interrupted him.

"Send me! I'll get there quick, check on them, and be back to reassure Ino and confirm that her father is okay!" Again, Ino couldn't help but feel so surprised that Naruto would do that for her.

"Naruto, I am doing something about it. But you three are going home. Trust me." Kakashi said, giving his usual smile. Naruto calmed down, and Kakashi called Shizune into the room. "Shizune, get me Gai, Tsunade, Neji, and Sai."

Ah, I enjoyed that. Next chapter should be shorter unless I lose it a little bit, haha.

So, what did you think? Make sure to let me know so I can adjust or continue the trend! Still, the story is pretty much set in where it's going, but I can always get better to deliver all of you the best story possible.

Kyuketsuki I believe translates loosely to "Vampire" or "Blood Drinker" I believe, which is fitting as you learn more and more about the organization. And no... Don't worry. They aren't vampires.

Let me also explain my reasoning for involving a new organization. I LOVED how the Akatsuki were built up. It was genuinely awesome and terrifying to know Naruto was hunted by such elite ninja, except they're now kind of all dead. Now the only ones remaining are really Madara and Zetsu, while Kisame is off doing his own thing. I want that sense of danger and mystery back, which is why you will see new threats pop up that all build to what makes this story unique. Danger. That anyone can die at any moment, and even I as a writer am scared to see things progress at times.

Anyways, I hope its not story breaking for you guys. I think I introduced them lightly enough pretty well. We'll see how it goes over the next two chapters or so!

Also, for those wondering why Sasuke's rogue ninja arc and Sakura's "confession" aren't a huge focus in this story so far... Well, I'm gonna do all that a bit differently. There was not enough reason (in my view of it) for Sakura to be THAT bad to Naruto. Broke my heart a bit. So while it will be very similar, it won't be as bad, and will play out differently.

Again, hope you all enjoyed the chapter, review and leave your thoughts so I can build the best story possible!