Ino turned away from her companions as she headed down the gangplank that lead to the docks. 'Guess I'll start in the trading district and go from there'. Behind her, she heard the body flickers of Kiba and Naruto go flashing into the distance. Checking her gear and surroundings, Ino proceeded to find the captain who was currently surrounded by ten to fifteen samurai clones that Naruto had created. 'We'll probably have to pick up some actual guards as well now that were here. It wouldn't do for Naruto's identity to be betrayed by a chakra tracing type'. Ino grimaced as she thought of this. The loss of the clones was going to put them in a bit of trouble. They were useful for quick deployments, ate little to nothing, and required no supervision or training. 'Replacing them is also going to take a pretty penny out of the mission funds.' A wicked smile crept over her lips as she approached. 'Then again, I do have the money I won from the boys'.

The lead samurai nodded to her as she approached, smirking in kind with her smile. Ino checked herself for a moment, replacing her professional mask. The captain nodded to her, asking where they would be staying. "I'm going to have us set up at the local inn and keep most of the guards with the sailors on the ship here. It should allow us a quick escape if we are in need of one." Ino turned to the princess. "Your majesty, did you bring a body double along with you when we first set out?" The young woman nodded, bringing a smile to Ino's face. "Good, we're going to get her set up as soon as possible when we reach the inn then. Until then, we need to move quickly and safely. For now, stay inside the ring of the samurai wherever you go, allright?" The princess nodded again, reaching into her pocket to pull out a small wallet.

"This is some of the extra funds my father sent me with for this trip. I want you and your fellow ninja to use it to help protect me and make sure we reach our destination." Ino nodded, gratefully accepting the funds.

"Thank you, your highness. They will be used as best as possible to ensure the mission success. The inn is off in that direction. I will escort you there for now, but then I must leave to ensure the missions success."

Nodding again, the princess turned with the ship captain as the group set out for the inn. As they did so, Ino began taking a survey of their surroundings. 'Seems there are a lot of itinerant hands here' she thought the docks barely alive with activity during the middle of the day. It boded well for her prospects of finding a dependable crew to manage a land journey, one that was going to need an actual body rather than shadow clones. It however did not speak well of the towns conditions. Something was going on to make a trade city like the one they landed in be stuck at a standstill. From the reports she read before leaving for the mission, Snow country was having an industrial and economic renaissance. It was supposedly growing in leaps in bound. Truthfully, they were far from the actual site of the growth, the main city in the center of the country. But even still, if the reports were accurate it should have reached down to this part of the country as well.

'The reports were dated though. News from Snow country is hard to come by. I think they were around six months old at the time'. Thinking back to the changes around the Leaf village during the last six months, it made her shake her head. Tsunade had changed many things during the last six months by revealing Naruto's heritage and upgrading his status to that of a chunin. The news had caused quite a stir among the shopkeepers, leading many that had been unkind to the blond before to begin brimming with false friendship.

'The death threats from Iwa also began around that time'. It still surprised the young kunoichi that the country could hold so much hate toward Naruto's father even after the young blonde helped to set the world right. Still, many had been unhappy with his choice of placing the jinchuuriki in the smaller ninja villages. It was Naruto's belief that the larger ninja villages, with their numerous ninja, had enough power to easily create wars. It made no sense to give large nations like that then the power of the tailed beasts. To his mind, it made much more sense to pass the power to smaller villages and create a balance for lesser nations to resist wars occurring in their small areas. The only problem was that Naruto would have to retain his tailed beast until he was ready to pass on. At that time, the nine-tails would have to be resealed into a new container, supposedly one from the land of waves which Naruto had originally helped to establish as a gennin.

Ino continued to take in the docs and the changes of the city around them as they drew nearer to the inn. The inner parts of the city were just as dilapidated as the docks, raising her suspicions. 'There is definitely something going on here…guess I'll have to leave one of my clones with them just in case.' The inn drew closer, and soon enough the guards, princess, captain and kunoichi were all safely inside. "I'm going to be leaving you here with some extra protection your highness" Ino's voice cut through the small inn room, the princess nodding, and then calling out to her body double. Ino looked the body double over, noting the same exact face shapes and hair color. 'They almost look like twins…guess that's how the royal families go'. Ino meanwhile had gathered the necessary chakra, focusing both her water and earth elements inside of her. The kekkai genkai she had come to possess had occurred late in her life, closely shadowing the unfortunate death of Asuma. It had taken two years after the fall of Madara for her power to truly come into full blossom. The village leaders had been excited by the elemental combination, hoping for a resurgence of the wood manipulation bloodline. Sadly, that was not to be the case.

"Crystal Clone Jutsu" Ino's voice was a bare whisper as the swirls of charka and stone began to take shape. A crystalline body formed slowly, complete with an internal chakra structure, weapons, and abilities. It was even able to create and maintain genjutsu as well as use her families main ninjutsus. It was a living and solid clone, dispelled only through great trauma or damage. Ino felt her knees go weak as she completed the jutsu, the great amount of chakra required quickly draining her heavily.

"This clone is telepathically linked to me, and has a strength equal to about half of mine. It is hard to destroy, intelligent and has its own sentience" Ino gestured toward the clone, reaching into her pouch to pull out an additional soldier pill. 'Damn, two in twenty four hours. I'm going to have to send a messenger crow to Tsunade for more if this mission continues at this rate.' Ino grimaced as she bit down on the bitter pill. Its effects were instantaneous, but the after effects were going to wait until she fell into a troubled sleep that night. 'Can't worry about that now' Ino forced the thought from her head.

"I'll wait for you here" the doppelganger stated, drawing a sword from it's scabbard. "With the chakra you have given me, and with my ability to recover some, I should be viable for around five to seven days unless I am directly confronted." Ino nodded at this before the clone turned to the princess. "I am simulacrum of Miss Yamanaka, and will treat you as she would. I hope you do not underestimate my abilities, as I will be trying very hard to keep you alive. I may fail."

'Great, I created a pessimistic one again. Why are all my clones so gloomy?' The blonde shook her ponytail at this, before turning to apologize to the young princess. "I should be back in a few hours, I hope you will be fine with staying here until then."

"I should be alright, as long as the clone here doesn't depress me to death." The smile on the princess's face reassured Ino, causing her stifle a small giggle. Both of the look-alike's in the room rolled their eyes at the reactions of their charges. Turning with a smile on her face, Ino exited the room, placing one of Naruto's warning seals on the door as she closed it behind her. 'That should go off in anyone of serious chakra capacity besides one of us get's close to the building'.

Ino turned onto the busy city street, looking around at her surroundings. She was clothed in basic shinobi garb, her ninja pack and broadsword strapped to her waist. The leaf headband was around her shoulder, her jonin vest crossing her black top. Around her thighs were the weapon and medical pack she had been given by Tsunade. 'Dressed like this, I'll be able to get some serious responses. Unfortunately, I will probably attract some unwanted attention as well. Oh well, it should be known that leaf ninja like a Yamanaka are traveling. It leaves people on guard, and less likely to try anything foolish'.

Ino went from store to store, inquiring about the state of the city, the routes north that led to the capital, and the recent news. It turned out that there was quite a bit of unrest in the local city. It seemed that locals had found a sharp decline in trade thanks to a new group that had established itself in the far north, supplying food, armor, and other necessities to the capital. In the meantime, the boom that had helped grow the city had suddenly vanished as foreign trade was difficult. The news of the political marriage had also not helped, as the land of earth was the nearest trader and had recently reestablished hostilities with the land of fire. 'Naruto's legacy still is bringing him trouble it seems. Still, he didn't earn many friends in the great nations by giving the tailed beasts to the smaller nations and demanding the creation of the ambassador process. I wonder what he thinks of me being the leaf's ambassador to Snow.' Officially, the ambassadors were only supposed to serve in one of the five great nations. In recent years though, the Land of Snow had become such a powerful force that many were beginning to consider it a real contender. 'If what is going on here is any indication though, there may be some trouble brewing in the young nation.'

Ino thought on this as she went from store to store, her thoughts returning again and again to Naruto and his decision to create the ambassador program. 'I was selected for this by a lottery. It was bound to have been one of the remaining rookie nine. Still, I wish it didn't have to keep me away from Konoha'. Naruto's face surfaced again. 'God, why can't I stop thinking of him? It was a one night stand, why does he keep having to come back?' Ino was a little annoyed by the blondes repeated intrusions on her mind. She had enjoyed herself that night, though had honestly meant the incident to be nothing more than a one timer. Still, he definitely had his benefits. And a death contract signed to whoever he hitched up with. 'If any woman chooses to stay with him, she'll be hunted by Iwagakure, as well as many of the other villages just based on his recent choices. As it stands, he's just not worth that much to me at the moment.' Even still, her impending talk with her teammates did not have her thrilled. She had played the cold shoulder to them so far to avoid the conversation. It had been the death of Asuma that had reformed her as a kunoichi, leading her to pursue her elemental affinities and other jutsu. It had also helped her create a cold exterior, one that would not let her former emotional and childish ways get a teammate injured or killed. The change had shocked her mother, and saddened her father, but it had to be made. Even with the help of Shikimaru and Choji, the death of her sensei had left her raw. 'I still wish I could have helped Shikimaru in destroying that bastard Hidan.' Her rage fueled her search for information, eventually leading her to a large open space.

Steel tracks ran over the ground, and large machines whirred and clicked along. People milled around, thronging to and fro. Dressed as she was, Ino ignored the civilians and made her way to what appeared to be a front desk.

"All aboard for the commuter train north! All aboard!" The loud cry of the train manager startled Ino for a moment, as did the whistle of the machine as it lead away from the station. The milling of people lessoned for a second, many content to sit on the outdoor benches, waiting for the next train to arrive. It was a strange sight to Ino, as trains were not very common in the land of fire. The mountainous terrain and lack of advanced technology made the commodity unheard of in her home country. As she looked around, Ino began to notice the clocks and trinkets that were unheard of in Konoha.

'I might as well pick up something for the guys' Ino thought, feeling guilty about her lack of communication with Shikimaru and Choji in the recent years. 'Still, that can wait until after the mission is complete.' Approaching the counter, Ino noticed a grate that was drawn over the space between her and the office worker. "I'm interested in finding out the cost of a trip to the capital. I need a train that can handle lots of passengers, and is fairly secure. Cost is no conern." The man behind the counter was a little taken aback by the straight forward approach of the young woman, but nodded and placed a small brochure in front of her. His blue train station uniform was drawn tight against him, muscles apparent in his features. He had shock blue eyes, gray hair, and hairy hands. His skin was bleach white from lack of sun.

"That is a list of all the available commuter trains. There are also trade trains that carry specialty goods for the capital." His deep voice caught Ino off guard for a moment. It seemed to not fit the shocked reaction moments before. "Those tend to be relatively safer and carry guards with them for the protection of the goods from raiders. If you are interested in such a thing, I know someone who might be able to arrange that for a leaf shinobi." The man's final sentence made Ino tense for a moment. It was known that Konoha and Yumi were working together at this day and age, but it might also not be good to attract that sort of attention.

"Are you familiar working with ninja?" Ino inquired, locking the man in her eyesight. She was watching for any telltale signs of an informant, something that could majorly threaten the mission.

"I am very familiar working with ninja. This booth is sealed so that the public cannot see it, and exudes a chakra that is attractive to those who are familiar users." Ino verified the genjutsu quickly, but did not dispel it.

"Go on." So far the man had not slipped or shown any signs of lying, but Ino was still being careful.

"These were set up by her highness Yukie, and are in place to help ninja such as yourself find transport from one area to another. If you pay for the tickets here, they will not appear in the ledger and will be sealed from public view. How many will you need to purchase?" The man still had not given her a reason to doubt his intentions. Still, something about his reaction at first had her on edge.

"I will require six tickets. I am also looking to hire some local guards. If it's not too much trouble I will also need to secure my men within the ranks of the guards on the train, and have at least one, if not three of the cars set aside for my groups personal use." Ino continued to analyze the man, but his blue eyes betrayed nothing.

"I can acquire six tickets easily, that will not be a problem. The cars will have to be limited to one though, Miss Yamanaka." Ino tensed suddenly, memory crashing into her. 'This is Yoitsu Konabe, the genjutsu user of the north. The first ninja from the Snow village to land in the bingo books.' Ino's hand went quickly to her sword, her chakra flow flaring to prepare for combat.

"No need for hostilities young lady. I'm not really here at all right now. I'm merely an informant who hops from town to town, gathering info for the ruling family." The tickets in front of Ino felt solid as she picked them up, but as she focused her senses she realized just how fake the stand was. Where there should have been a corner on a row of five counters, a hollow area was hollowed out. Into that hollowed out area Ino had stepped when she approached the counter. A seal behind her had hidden her from the outside.

"As I said, I am merely an informant. I only ended up in the bingo book because of my information gathering abilities. As it stands though, you are a much more prominent figure in the bingo books." Ino shivered as she stood there, unable to shake the genjutsu effects. "It really would be a bother if you undid the genjutsu I've placed here. Please stop or things may become unpleasant." Ino felt a chill go through her as she recognized certain seals on the walls of the enclosure beginning to glow. "Those are explosive marks. If you keep struggling the way you are, I will set them off."

"How do I know that those are not a part of the illusion?" Ino countered, her cool and focus coming back to her. She closed her eyes, limiting the effect of the trap and focused her chakra into her sword. Before she knew it, the sword was drawn and pointed at the info booth.

"Can you afford not to assume that they are?" The cool calm voice of the opposing shinobi shook Ino's resolve. The tension dragged on for several moments, Ino's muscles itching for release.

"What is it that you want to know?" Ino sighed, defeat evident on her face. Her eyes remained closed though, and the charged sword at the ready.

"I need to know who is traveling with you. Queen Yukie received word that the Hokage was sending special ninja on the mission and needs to know which ones have been sent. The messenger hawk carrying the Hokage's response has not reached Yukie yet, and has caused a bit of a stir as of late."

A quick intake of breath from Ino betrayed the significance of this matter. 'That scroll was sealed to wipe out all ink that was on it if it was improperly delivered. However, it mentioned that Shizuna was on this mission. If anyone knows that alias, then Naruto and the Leaf village may be in serious danger.'

"Because of that, the Snow village has decided to send diplomatic envoys to each of the five great nations. It is in hopes that any foolishness that might soon result can be prevented."

Again, Ino was struck by the man's words as he had slapped her. 'That means that if Naruto was revealed here, the other nations would be in a sticky situation. They couldn't throw out the envoys if the nation that they are representing currently houses Naruto. At the same time, they couldn't attack the leaf if one of it's allies was meeting with them. If they did, it would bring down the wrath of the Snow and Sand villages.' Ino smiled as realization and acceptance hit her. 'I really need to thank this Queen Yukie when we arrive.'

"All right then, I guess I'll have to tell you about the mission and its parameters as the messenger hawk did not safely arrive."

Author's Note: This chapter is going to have a few parts to it, one focused on each character and building the necessary exposition I need for the story to really pick up. The next parts will feature Kiba, and finally one of Naruto. Tune into the final part for a possible Ino/Naruto scene if I get enough reviews! Until next time then, Read and Review please!