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"K-Kushina please just-"

"I know what you're going to try to say Saru." She had a sickly sweet expression, one that promised certain pain, and for probably the second time in his life Hiruzen Sarutobi was fearing for his life.

"B-But there is a reason I couldn't tell you about Naruto, it was-"

"All Minato's doing."

"Yes, Minato said that...wait how did you know?"

Kushina sighed, wearing a forlorn expression after mentioning her deceased husband. "Knowing him he would probably pull an extreme plan like this, even from beyond the grave." She slightly smirked as the picture of his idiotic grin ran through her mind. "I remember him telling me about the prophecy of the next onimusha. That wouldn't have anything to do with this would it?"

"I'm afraid so," Sarutobi said with a sigh. "He sensed the unnatural aura from Naruto the moment you gave birth to him. I sensed it too, though very slightly. But because of the Kyuubi's untimely attack it threw off any planning he had of Naruto's future. So at the very last minute he had to arrange for...an old family friend of his that has the most existing knowledge of the Onimusha lore in order to raise Naruto and help harness his hidden power."

"And what happened to the Kyuubi? Don't tell me...that...that he-"

"What other choice did he have Kushina," Sarutobi said sadly, trying to comfort her in a grandfatherly fashion. "Minato would never force that burden upon another parent being the hokage. And I'm sure he could have chosen to make Kohatsu the Jinchuuriki. But Naruto leaving the village it was the most convenient. Just think of the consequences if he had stayed in Konoha, with the whole village knowing that the demon who had killed many of their own was amongst them. Despite belonging to the hokage's family he would still be bound to alienation that all jinchuuriki's are subject to."

"And what now? The whole village remains in blissful ignorance thinking that the Kyuubi is truly gone?" Kushina said, crying.

"No, the truth will eventually surface, but by then they will have nothing to fear. With Naruto we have a more than capable Jinchuuriki with the Uzumaki blood running through his veins. We have seen that with yourself and Lady Mito."

"It is not that simple, being the Kyuubi's jailkeeper is more mentally straining than anybody can possibly imagine! I don't think Naruto will even be able to comprehend that."

"Than guide him," Sarutobi said simply. "He has never been alone, which has been a blessing. Now he has you and the rest of his family to support him. Even though Minato isn't here to help, he was confident in Naruto's natural ability, just as he placed his faith in his own family and that of Konoha."

"This is just too much take in for one day. I'll go home for tonight," Kushina said, shaking her head as she tried to process her thoughts. "Don't think we are done here, we will continue this later."

"Of course Kushina, rest well as this has been an eventful day as for the rest of us." Kushina said nothing more as she left the office. Sarutobi sighed as he sat down, pulling out his already lit pipe and putting it in his mouth.

A lot had happened for him that day too. Besides the Chunnin exams being compromised by the surprise attack, he had to deal with the greater burden of his former student in Orochimaru making his return. Had the Raikage not been there to help him along with some other unknown force, he was sure that he was fated to die that day. But he knew it would come for him eventually, and his intuition told him sooner than expected. But he would do it protecting the village as his predecessors had.

Naruto woke up at the crack of dawn, as he had always done as far he could remember. Most of his memories had returned to him, ever since his true identity was revealed. While most of the information from his upbringing was still hazy, he still remembered his kind grandparents who raised him. And now he was here in Konoha, his new home with his new family. Or rather his real family as he had been told. He couldn't deny it as the resemblance was uncanny. Somehow he felt right where he was supposed to be, in the Namikaze compound.

He suddenly realized that he was outside in the yard, as the brilliant rising sun was starting to peek from beyond the horizon. Standing lost in thought was older brother Arashi who was surprised to see Naruto. Smiling he walked towards him, patting him on the head.

"You're up rather early, couldnt sleep?"

"Not really, I'm used to getting up around this time."

"You don't say…" If only Kohatsu was like this. "Say, when I was watching your fight with Kohatsu I noticed you used no Ninjutsu whatsoever, why is that?"

"Oh, you mean doing jutsu's and all that? I...don't really know how," Naruto admitted. Arashi was stunned, just staring down at his mini-me.

"You don't know any jutsu's? But I've seen you use some powerful techniques."

"Oh that, uh the old man never really taught me any jutsu's, really. What you saw me doing was channeling chakra through my weapon."

So he was manipulating the chakra into doing raw elemental attacks at will? "Naruto how about we have a little spar right now, you up for it?"

Naruto's eyes lit up, and Arashi couldn't help but grin. "Can we really?"

"Of course, nothing major. You can bring all you can, just try not to destroy the yard ok?" Naruto nodded as he started shuffling eagerly. "And to keep this even I will keep one hand behind my back.

Instead of complaining like Kohatsu usually would, Naruto just looked confused. "Are you sure? Even the old man stopped doing that after a while, and he was pretty strong."

Arashi replied with a smile. "Just bring it."

Naruto nodded then charged at him with a quick kick. Arashi dodged it casually until Naruto started his barrage of blows. It didn't take long for Arashi to be on his full guard even though he kept one arm behind his back.

He's fast! Arashi parried one of his blows by sending him away with a powerful kick. Naruto landed softly on the opposite wall, stationing himself for a split second. Then he shot himself like a bullet, and in the blink of an eye he reached Arashi ready to deliver the final blow. But all he saw was a quick glimpse of emerald and ended up crashing into the opposite wall.

"That was reckless Naruto," Arashi chided. But if it wasn't for the flying thunder god technique enabling him to teleport at the last second he would've been knocked unconscious by now.

"Gah, I almost had you! How did you dodge it?" Naruto demanded

"I'll tell you after," Arashi said with a smirk. He beckoned him forward, with Naruto more than happy to comply. His strikes were precise and fluid now. Each blow different than the last as they tried to pry open into Arashi's defense. Even with his enhanced reflexes he had a hard time reading Naruto's fighting style.

Grabbing Arashi's only free arm he pivoted and ended up on his backside, poised to deliver a crucial blow. This caught Arashi completely off guard and he had to once again teleport. This surprised Naruto once again.

He turned around and found his older brother, then smirked. The air around him started to shimmer. Arashi couldn't sense any visible aura of chakra, but that didn't diminish the sense of imminent danger. Naruto charged at surprising speeds, and Arashi found himself on the defensive. But each strike still landed and it was then that he realized each blow shot compressed torrents of air, similar to the Hyuuga style.

"This is it big bro!" Naruto made a grand sweeping gesture and Arashi felt his balance become unstable. He suddenly became engulfed in a mini whirlwind, with Naruto charging in like a bullet, propelled by his own wind. A mini explosion accompanied the impact.

"What the hell is that!" Kohatsu came rushing out followed by Kushina. As the smoke died down it revealed Naruto down on one knee panting heavily with Arashi standing beside him, smiling.

"Just a little spar session, nothing to see here," Arashi said apologetically.

"Please don't make this a habit, especially this early in the morning," said a yawning Alanna who just checked in lazily before dipping out, but not before giving Naruto an affectionate smile. Naruto just looked up at Arashi in admiration.

"You have...to teach...me that disappearing trick-thingy," Naruto panted.

Arashi just smiled as he ruffled his hair. "I will, eventually. Just rest now because you still have to see the hokage later this morning."

"Thats right, and I won't have you doing that on an empty stomach," Kushina said, pinching Naruto by the cheek and dragging him along. He could only stare at an apologetic looking Arashi as he was being dragged along. "Might as well start cooking since that racket woke us all up."

As Naruto was towed away by his mother, Kohatsu walked up to her older brother, with a look of curiosity. "So what do you think, strong isn't he?"

"Strong doesn't even begin to describe him. A lot of untapped potential, and he is a very capable fight despite not knowing a drop of ninjutsu."

"He doesn't? But then what about those techniques he used against me?" Kohatsu asked, confused.

"That him channeling raw elemental attacks with his chakra. His control must be there, so I don't think it will be difficult to teach him the basics of being a shinobi."

"I see...one more thing. Will we ever learn about how his life was? I know mom already explained the thing with...dad and all that. But…"

"When the time comes and he regains all of his memories, maybe he'll tell us. But before that lets be grateful that we have him back in our lives." Kohatsu nodded, seeming happy. The smell of breakfast guided him unconsciously inside.

A faint flash of yellow caught the corner of his eyes, and when he looked there was nothing there.

It's too early for this…

"Ah Naruto, please come in."

"Thanks ol man- er, of course hokage-sama." He thought he was about to be chastised for being so formal with the hokage, but the elder Sarutobi simply smiled. Growing up he only knew Tenkai and Arin, who acted as his foster grandparents. He didn't think it strange to refer to them as his grandparents despite their relatively young and ageless appearance, but that was besides the point. What was on his mind was what the hokage had in mind for him.

"Well Naruto, if you don't already know, you are here to reinstated as a both a citizen of Konoha, and a shinobi. Do you have any problems with that?" Naruto simply shook his head, guided by unconscious instincts. "Good, I hope the transition of being back with your family has been going smooth?"

Naruto smiled this time. "It's been wonderful, I finally feel like I'm back home." Sarutobi studied the young blondes face and saw nothing but genuine emotion. Sarutobi smiled warmly at that.

"But Hokage-sama, I just have one question. Will I be able to see grandma and grandpa again?" This slightly caught Sarutobi off guard, he didn't expect Naruto to still have any sort of memory of them. But he knew Naruto was coming from a good place and was genuinely curious.

"In due time Naruto-kun. They have big expectations of you, so make them proud ok?" Naruto nodded, seeming satisfied. "Now, since you were already a Genin of the Hidden Mountain village, there is no need for formalities in introducing you as a shinobi. While you're battle with your sister in the exams warrants you being promoted to a Chunnin, unfortunately that can't be the case. Since the exams were interrupted and cut the short, all the kages and daimyo's present agreed to reschedule the entire exams for next year. So that just leaves you with your new team…"

Sarutobi retrieved a scroll from his desk, taking a quick glance as if to double check. "Yes, you are to head to training ground thirteen right now to meet your new team. Good luck." Naruto nodded, then bowed to dismissed himself. After about half an hour of getting lost around the city and eventually asking for directions, he found his way to the training grounds.

The new team was already there, as if they had been waiting for a while. His new sensei was seemed like the standard Konoha jounin, save for the odd looking happuri-style forehead protector, one that Naruto had only seen on the face of the second hokage on the mountain.

His other teammates were a boy and a girl who he had never seen before. One was a girl with dark tanned skin and short minty colored hair. The other was a boy whose upper body seemed to be wrapped up like a mummy's under his attire. Only his eyes and hair seemed to be exposed. They both studied Naruto curiously, though Yamato smirked upon Naruto's arrival.

"Yup, you're definitely his younger brother alright. Although you're expression isn't as idiotic as Arashi's." Naruto just smiled sheepishly as he stood besides his new teammates. Their new sensei stood up from the stump he was sitting on as he took a deep breath.

"Well my name is Yamato, feel free to call me that if sensei doesn't suit you, because quite frankly I'm still new to this sensei thing. Now then, why don't we start off with introduction as well as telling us something about yourself. Lets start with you young lady."

The minty haired girl perked up, as if she wasn't expecting that. Then she flashed a bright smile as she pointed to herself. "The names Fu. I'm originally from the hidden waterfall village, and as to why I'm here is none of your business. If any of you try to get too comfortable with me, you will pay dearly." Her sickly sweet smile sent chills through her other male companions as an awkward silence ensued.

Eventually mummy boy stepped forward, politely bowing. "My name is Mori. I was involved in an accident a few years ago which resulted in Kakashi Hatake incidentally finding me during his mission. I really can't remember anything before that. I am now grateful to be here in the position I am now. My hobbies are mining and my goal is to remember my former life." Yamato nodded in satisfaction, as he looked Naruto.

Sighing, he said "The name's Naruto. Like you Fu, I was raised outside of this village." Fu gave no reaction, seeming indifferent. "And like you Mori, I don't remember much about my life before I came here." Mori averted his eyes and looked away as he said that. "For my hobbies, I guess I like to fight and train. And as for my future goals...I want to be the strongest in the village!" Another awkward silence followed as Yamato smiled apologetically. With the formalities out the way it seemed like a burden had been lifted in breaking the ice, though very slightly at that.

"Now if you haven't figured it out, I'll tell you right now. This isn't a normal team. As you have heard if you were paying attention, all of us aren't originally from this village. And yes that includes myself." The younger Gennins seemed surprised at that, as Yamato didn't display any foreign traits unlike Naruto and the others. "And it was no accident that the Hokage assembled a team like this together. We have much more to prove than the other teams, and we will do that by showing out loyalty to the village through our efforts."

"Now, I have seen each of you in action, whether you were aware of it or not does not matter, and frankly I have some idea as to what each of you are capable of. Most teams right now are probably going through some kind of test to see how they perform as a unit, but we aren't going to do that. So with that being said…" Three wooden branches sprung from the ground startling the Naruto and the others. They were each formed like elongated vines and slowly crept towards the respective gennins.

They each opened up like a flower blossoming, revealing small wooden figurines. Surprised, they looked towards Yamato, who just beckoned them to take it. Naruto took his which was the shape of a fox's head. He looked over to see Fu taking hers which was shaped like a beetle's with Mori taking his shaped like a raven's head.

"Now, as long I'm your captain and sensei, I will be held accountable for each of you. Those are special made pieces that each of you are to keep on you at all times. If I sense that one of you aren't holding it, I will assume the worse and come after you. Am I clear?"

"Why go through so much trouble to look out for us? I mean I get that you're our sensei, but in the world of shinobi, it wouldn't make sense to get that attached to us seeing as any of us could get killed at any moment," Fu challenged. Yamato took that question in stride as if he was expecting it, smiling slightly.

"Of course, I too had that same train of thought when I first arrived here in Konoha. But you will soon learn the way we do things through one steady philosophy, that being the will of fire. Even though our number are great, that doesn't take away from the importance from individual. Understood?" Fu said nothing and Yamato took that as a yes. "But enough of that, for now I will brief you on our first upcoming mission…"

A week had passed since Naruto had been with his new team. It wasn't the most conventional to say the least, but it wasn't impossible to work with. He got to learn the ability of his new teammates.

Learning that Yamato-sensei was a wood style user came as a surprise, he had heard that the only who was able to use use that was the great first hokage himself, and also that the ability was supposed to have died with him. His other teammates were enigmas like himself.

Fu was a wind style user like himself, except that she had some amazing natural abilities to go along with it like the ability to fly, though she wouldn't disclose how she was able to do that.

Mori had a unique kekkei genkai called the flash release. Utilizing fire, earth and lightning he was able to create bright colored shard like substances that could explode in a blinding flash upon contact. Though he was the last known surviving member from his clan, he never dwelled on that. But he did share more info about his origins.

"When I first came to Konoha I was put through experiments to try and uncover some sort of identity. It turns out that my DNA was similar to the head of the Kazama clan. They were a clan that's from Sunagakure that specialized in explosives as well as some other unknown abilities. But they were wiped out by the ninja Sasori of the Red Sand when he went rogue. So they came to the conclusion that I was some kind of orphan who managed to get away." As he was saying that Naruto noticed his soft expression never changed, his quiet demeanor staying consistent since he came know him. He felt like he could completely trust Mori since he came out to them like that, but Fu was a different story.

"That's quite the sob story Mori, I'm sure that experience changed you for the better. Oh, wait…"

"That's enough Fu," Naruto growled. But Mori grabbed his arm, shaking his head.

"It's quite alright Naruto, I don't exactly blame Fu. Yes it's sad that I can't remember any of those incidents. If I had I'm sure I wouldn't be the person that I am today. Besides that I've already moved on to my current life here in Konoha."

"That's the right way to go about it Mori," Yamato said cheerfully patting him on the head. "And you Fu, I don't know what you went through with your life to have made you like this and frankly I don't care. The fact is you have to put that aside and do whats best for the team right now." Fu had a dark expression upon hearing that, but just scowled and turned walking away.

Yamato sighed running a hand through his hair. Naruto knew that Yamato worried about Fu more than him and Mori because of her guarded disposition. Light from the sunset in the background illuminated the training ground they were at, signaling the end of the day for them. With that Yamato decided to dismiss them since Fu had done that herself already.

"Remember tomorrows the first mission, an escort mission to the land of lightning. We meet tomorrow morning at the front gate, don't be late!" Yamato declared before shushinning away. With that Naruto and Mori decided to leave.

"I'll see ya tomorrow Mori," Naruto said. He nodded, giving as he walked away. As he walked home he couldn't help but feel irked at Fu's negative attitude, and before he knew it he was wandering through the crowded market district. He sighed as he started to make his way home, but not before a familiar voice called out to him.

"Naruto!" It came from his twin sister Kohatsu who was Ichiraku's with Kakashi, Sai and strangely enough Sasuke who Naruto thought to be a loner. "C'mon over we just started eating, Kakashi-sensei will buy you a bowl."

Kakashi sweat dropped at that, though he just sighed and beckoned for him to come over. Naruto shrugged and went over, taking an empty seat besides his sister and Sai. Kohatsu greeted him with a smile before digging into her bowl. Sai...was just Sai and regarded him with a blank stare. Sasuke ignored him completely, slowly eating his bowl.

"So Naruto, Yamato tells me your guys first mission is tomorrow, you excited?" Kakashi asked, peering at him sideways.

"Of course," Naruto said smiling. And he honestly was excited, eager to prove himself though actual mission experience. "Though I'm not too sure about my teammates, I'm sure we'll be fine under Yamato-sensei."

"You have nothing to worry about. Even though this his first go around at having his own genin team I can tell you from personal experience that Yamato will take care of you guys. How is Mori doing?"

"He doing good," Naruto replied "But…"

"It's that new minty head that's causing trouble eh? Well, your team is not the only one with that problem," Kakashi said, regarding Sasuke with a one eyed smile. Sasuke just grunted and continued staring morosely into his soup, as if trying to search for the universe's answers in that one bowl.

"We actually have our first mission tomorrow too, an escort mission to the land of waves," Kohatsu said.

"We have an escort mission tomorrow too, to the land of lightning," Naruto said.

"Kumo eh? Been a while since they hired us for a mission," Kakashi noted.

"Excuse me Sensei, but this is the first time I've heard of such a mission coming from the land of lightning," Sai asked.

"Well, that would indeed be surprising to most," Kakashi said thoughtfully. "Our village has had some history of animosity with them, but that doesn't mean we are at each other throats, at least not yet. The Hokage and Raikage do respect each other and I'm sure they are doing some mutually beneficial stuff in the backround we don't hear about." With that being said they just finished their meals and called it a night.

The following morning Naruto met up with the team. Yamato and Mori greeted good morning while Fu just gave him a flat stare in between her yawns.

"So what now sensei, I don't see anybody here but us," Naruto asked.

"They aren't here unfortunately, they changed our rendezvous point to a nearby mining village. We should set out now." After about an hour they reached their destination. The village was modestly small, with most of the villagers milling about minding their business. But they didn't enter it as their client was waiting for them at the village gates.

There was two of them, one of them a tall dark skinned shinobi with a somewhat lazy expression wearing a katana strapped to his back. His companion was slightly shorter who was hooded. hiding her face. But Naruto was able to figure out it was a girl due to slender curves.

"Darui-san," Yamato greeted. The dark skin regarded him with a lazy nod. "I trust everything went smoothly?"

"More or less, you could say," Darui said. "There were no suspicious intent and Hokage-sama honored his agreement. Just make sure you get this one safely back at the village," he said, looking down at his companion passively. "A would have my ass if anything were to happen to her."

"Don't worry Darui-san, it's our job to ensure that," Yamato said.

Darui eyed Naruto and the others, then smirked. "With these brats eh? You didn't strike me as the type to take on the role of sensei."

"Well some things came up and I just happened to step up to take the role," Yamato said, clapping Naruto on the shoulder.

"Well, that's good enough for me. I'll be on my way now if you'll excuse me," Darui said departing. With that they departed back on the trail. For hours they trekked on the main trail, with Naruto and Mori talking occasionally. Fu said nothing while their hooded companion kept to herself. When the sun was about to set Yamato called them to a stop.

"We'll stop and camp here for the night since were on the village borders. We'll continue on to Kumo tomorrow," Yamato said.

"And how long until we reach the village sensei"? Mori asked, as he was setting up the campfire and his tent.

"Should be about a couple days," Yamato said with a yawn. We just have to go through Rice country before we get there. Oh you don't have to start setting all that up, I'll take care of this. Just back up a little," Mori and the other looked a little confused, but complied. Yamato looked at the clearing before them and went through hand signs.

"Wood-Release: Four Pillar House." The ground rumbled slightly and beams wood of rose from the ground quickly forming into a decent sized two story house. Mori looked stunned, while Fu smirked slightly. Naruto regarded the structure with excited childish eyes.

"Wow sensei you always have something so cool up your sleeve! Are all shinobi's from Konoha strong like you?" Yamato smiled, patting Naruto on the head.

"We all have our unique strengths, lets just put it that," Yamato said. "Now lets go out and catch some for dinner." He turned to address their hooded client. "I'm sorry, I forgot to get your name because you've been so quiet."

She didn't say anything, and instead started walking into the house. But she stopped and turned her head slightly towards them at the entrance. "It's Yugito…"

"Well Yugito we should have dinner ready in a bit, I'll stay here to stand guard while the others get the fish." Yugito nodded slightly then walked in.

"Aww I hate fishing, I never get to catch anything," Naruto complained.

"What doesn't your simple country ass know what to do. C'mon, I'll show you idiots how it's really done," Fu said, smirking slightly.

"Ah yes, of course you're the expert, being from that waterfall village. Must be all that there is do at that waterhole," Naruto shot back. Fu smacked Naruto on the back of the head, hard enough to land him flat on his face. She stalked off after that, with a sighing Mori and grumpy Naruto in tow. Yamato shook his head at that, though was smiling at that. They weren't exactly the ideal close-knit unit he'd want in a team, but they did come a far way from when they first set foot in the village.

"Huh?"

Slightly disoriented, it took himself minute to come to. Naruto found himself in a murky dungeon. The floor was slightly flooded, and with the dimly lit cavern combined with the stale air, it gave off an ominous presence. He felt a slight sense of deja vu, as he was sure he'd been here before. He then noticed a large metal caged door with a seal in the middle of it.

There was a sound of something shifting slightly in the background. Then two red slits of eyes appeared from the darkness within, looking down on the blonde.

"You dare show yourself before me you little maggot." The voice was deep and menacingly booming. But rather than be intimidated like his natural senses were telling him, Naruto found himself curious. It seemed hazy, but he was definitely sure he had met this being before.

"Hehe sorry for disturbing you from you're...err nap but I just don't know where I am," Naruto said sheepishly. The red slits narrowed slightly and Naruto sweat dropped slightly, glad that the bars were separating them.

"Of course you don't. It's extremely rare that we get to meet. The geezer's barrier, including this seal lock me in and prevent me from even influencing you in the slightest way. Yes, most in your situation would kill to be in the position you're in."

"Barrier? Geezer? Wait you don't mean the old man do you," Naruto asked.

"Yes, that old man had formidable, ancient power. I underestimated him and became constricted by his will. It prevents me from even revealing certain things, even my appearance," the voice said, full of contempt. "But it seems to be wearing off, seeing as how you are aware of me. Tell me, do you know who I am little brat?"

"Hmm, can't say I do," Naruto said, pondering. "I've been regaining a lot of my memories, and I do feel as though I've met you. But I have no idea as to who you are." The red slits stared at him, and Naruto felt as if it was trying to invite him in, it's dubious nature egging on Naruto's natural curiosity relentlessly.

"Hmph, I had expected as much. But tread carefully little one, because the next time we meet, it won't be so pleasant," the voice said softly. From below the red slit of eyes revealed a giant set sharp teeth, smiling unpleasantly. And for the first time Naruto felt a chill creeping through his spine. But before he could respond his head started spinning, and felt himself being yanked.

Naruto shot up breathing hard. He looked around and noticed Mori's and Yamato's sleeping figures. He then realized where he was, and took a deep breath.

It was just a dream.

But that couldn't be, he remembered exactly everything that happened, and it was firmly ingrained in his memory like another presence in his being. He tried laying down and going back to sleep, but found himself wide awake. He stood up and looked outside, seeing the moon above indicating it was about midnight. Seeing as how he was wide awake he figured he might as well do some training to burn some energy.

Walking outside, he saw Yamato again, or rather his wood clone. It was a rather good clone as he could tell little difference from this one and his real sensei. The clone turned around and regarded him.

"Ah Naruto-kun, what's got you up?"

"Awkward dream you could say," Naruto said. "I'm just going to do some training to kill time."

"I see, well just make sure you have your talisman on you." Naruto nodded as he slid his hand into his pocket fingering the wooden figurine. For minutes he walked through the forest, finding himself to be wandering aimlessly. His senses picked up slight chakra and he cautiously crept behind a tree.

There was a clearing with a small running stream. The moonlight illuminated the clearing, highlighting a person sitting on the ground. It was a girl with long blonde hair, her outline faintly shimmering with what Naruto made out to be blue flames.

Who is she? He took a step back, and of course stepped on a twig.

The flames disappeared as she turned around around, cautious. "Who's there?"

Naruto stared into her face, noticeably her eyes. They were a mismatched color, with one yellow and the other green. Naruto noted they were slightly slanted in sort of a feline style. But they slowly disappeared as well, revealing her natural dark colored eyes.

Naruto stepped forward, unbidden to anything else as. He might as well since he didn't feel any hostile intentions. The girl relaxed upon seeing him, turning her back.

"Oh, it's the loud one. What do you want?"

That stopped Naruto in his tracks. "Loud one, what do you mean by that? Do I know you?"

She flipped her hair in an annoyed manner, peeking over her shoulder with an amused expression. "Fu was right, you really aren't all too bright. It's me, Yugito." She didn't say anything else as she just leaned back, staring into the night sky.

"Oh, uhh shouldn't you be asleep right now? I'm sure Yamato-sensei wouldn't approve of you being out here by yourself."

"Oh please, I'll be fine out here on my own. I told his clone thing already anyways. Question is what brings you here? You're loud snoring kept me up and is the reason I'm out here," Yugito said with a smirk. Naruto's face heated up as he stood there awkwardly, trying to think of something else to say to change the subject. When that didn't happened he walked over and sat on the grass besides her. She didn't say anything, continuing to stare at the sky.

He did too, trying to find whatever she found so intriguing. When that also didn't happen he yawned, more out of boredom than fatigue. "Jeez is this what you do on your own time? Kind of boring if you ask me."

"You never told me what you're doing here. Did wooden sensei send you here to look after me?" Yugito said, ignoring his remark."

"Nope, couldn't sleep. So I figured I'd just do a little training to try and burn some energy. But this stargazing thing is actually doing the job better." Yugito smiled, a genuinely warm one. Kind of a nice change, given all that he had to put up with Fu.

"I've always liked being by myself I guess, and things like stargazing have been apart of my routine as far as I can remember…" Yugito said trailing off. He looked at her curiously, that was the same expression he had seen on the sand kids face when he had last seen him at the exams. But it was a different, one with solace grace, rather than despair and lunacy than he had seen on the redhead.

"Well, growing up I was kind of a loner like you when I was growing up, so I guess I can kind of relate to that. Not that it was a bad thing, its just since I moved to Konoha I've had to get used to talking to other people. Like you for instance," Naruto said with a cheeky grin. Yugito just gave him a flat stare, one that he was all too familiar too with.

"Kind of all makes sense now," Yugito muttered. "Tell me, do you know who I really am?"

"Nope, not my place to to ask I guess," Naruto said. "Just that you're the client and that we are escorting you back to your village."

"So you're not in the least bit curious as to what I do? You know I can be a shinobi for all you know, an assassin in your midst who can strike at any time," she said softly. In a quick flash she had her index finger against his throat, her nail growing into an elongated claw, like a cats. Naruto barely flinched at all, maintaining his relaxed posture,

"Huh, I didn't doubt you weren't one. I just figured you looked too pretty and feminine to be one," Naruto said, unaware that Yugito was furiously blushing. "Huh? I know it's pretty dark but your face looks red. Are you feeling sick? Reminds me of this girl from my village who always does the same thing whenever I talk to her, for some weird reason-"

He stopped when she started laughing uncontrollably, rolling on the floor. After about what seemed like a couple minutes, she calmed down, though was still slightly giggling. "It's not an act, you're really like this aren't you?" Yugito said wiping her eyes.

"You're starting to sound like my sister now," Naruto said, pouting. Yugito calmed down, grabbing a strand of her hair and twirling it around finger .

"Oh so you have a sister now? You'll have to tell me that later, it's almost dawn now." Naruto looked towards the sky and saw that she was right. "I like you, you're a funny one. Hopefully we can meet again one day to talk about this."

"Why not just talk when we're on the road? We don't do nothing but walk and I'm bored of talking to the others."

Yugito smiled sadly. "I can't. There is a reason why I have to keep my face hidden. Once we leave this nation's borders I have to keep my face and voice hidden until we reach Kumo."

"Well that sucks," Naruto said. "But like I said earlier, it's not my place to ask. C'mon lets head back before the others wake up." With that they head back to pillared house, with Yamato's guard clone giving them a curt nod.

The next day was uneventful, and Yamato wanted to get to Kumo quixkly so they just kept walking most of the day covering a lot of ground, with Yugito being true to her word and not saying a word. They were able to cross Rice country without event, and Yamato stopped them for a quick break at a small dango shop.

"We're about a couple hours away from the Kumo's borders where we should have some delegates waiting for us. For now let's have some quick r&r," Yamato said. As the others situated themselves at the shop, he noticed that Yugito froze. It weirdly reminded him of a cat on it's haunches as it was stalking it's prey.

"Are you okay Yugito-san?" Naruto asked.

She quietly shook her head, pulling down her hood back revealing her face. The others froze, as that was the first time she had done that, indicting that something was wrong. "They've found us."

They heard a chuckle echo throughout as several shinobi's revealed themselves. There was about a dozen of them, each of the wearing masks with a pair of horns on the top. What caught Naruto by surprise was that they seemed to be from Kumo based on symbol on the masks they wore. But oddly enough they had a slash through them.

Yamato quickly got in front of Yugito while Mori and Fu followed suit. Naruto though looked confused.

"Are these your people Yugito?" he asked.

"Naruto, pay attention to their village symbol. It is marked through, indicating them as missing-nins," Yamato said. One of them stepped forward, a guy with spiky blue hair. He wasn't wearing a mask, and had a had a tattoo that covered the right side of his face.

"You are outnumbered, this won't bode too well for you. Give us the girl now and when we won't kill the rest of you," he said.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

The man chuckled again, made more menacing by the deathly silent surroundings. The dango shop closed closed their shop instantly, though Naruto was sure that wouldn't help.

"We are the Kinkaku force," the stranger responded softly. "And we'll be taking that girl now."

"Kinkaku force huh? Well this is great? I've been bored stiff these past few days, and I think this will be a good warm up," Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Naruto…" Fu growled.

"Let's make this a good one now." Naruto held his hand out and his staff appeared, though it was seemed to redesigned this time with half moon blades on each end of it.

The blue haired man laughed, a more hearty one this time "Oh this will be interesting. I'll take that fancy weapon of yours when this is all over." He drew two long hunting knives, each blade sporting the same design on the blade as the tattoo on his face.

Yugito stepped forward and lowered Naruto's weapon, puzzling him. "This isn't your fight," she said softly. She turned towards the blue haired man. "I've been looking forward to this day, Jellal."

"As have I Yugito," he responded. "Bee isn't here to protect you this time."

"That won't be needed," she said, barely audible. Suddenly the air shifted around her as blue flames surrounded her, more threatening than last time. Her feral appearance returned as her eyes went back to their green and yellow mismatched colors. Her nails turned into elongated claws as she went on all fours.

"Yes that's it, good kitty. Now come to your master!" Jellal said as he charged towards Yugito.

A/N: Yugito's age is changed to the same as Naruto's as she is older in the anime.