Chapter 21 - 39

-Tsuchikage Mansion, Iwa-

Sitting at his desk, the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, was busy at work, looking over at several mission reports he had received from the front lines.

Looking at the reports, the old Kage frowned at what he was reading. The attacks on Hi no Kuni (Fire Country's) borders weren't going as well as he and the council had expected. Konoha was putting up better resistance than they had anticipated, even after the damage their forces suffered in the recent invasion. Things were made even more difficult thanks to the recent treaties Konoha had made with Suna and Ame, which limited the places Iwa could attack from, since to attack Konoha they had to travel through one of four nations. Now that Suna and Ame had sided with Konoha, the only other nation they could travel through safely was Taki no Kuni (Waterfall Country). Kusa no Kuni (Grass Country) was out of the question due to the bad blood Kusagakure (Hidden Grass) had with his village after the Third Great Shinobi World War.

"Damn, Konoha," grumbled the irritable Tsuchikage, Konoha had always been a difficult village to deal with. Regardless of the fact that Iwa's military strength was superior to theirs, the village somehow always managed to overcome whatever was thrown at them. But what aggravated Ōnoki even more, was how the village was able to produce so many outstanding Shinobi, Shinobi like the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Three Ninja), Konoha no Shiroi Kiba (Konoha's White Fang) Hatake Sakumo, and his son Hatake Kakashi the Kopī Ninja (Copycat Ninja). This was of course only naming a few, and not counting the four previous Hokage, who all proved their worth multiple times on the battlefield. "It's almost as if Konoha is favoured by the Heavens...but if this goes right, that will soon change."

Shortly after, the Sandaime's train of thought was interrupted by the sound of someone knocking on his door. Responding with an "Enter," the door opened, revealing his son Kitsuchi.

Unlike his father, Kitsuchi was a tall and brawny man. He had dark eyes and grey-coloured hair that ended in a ponytail along with a beard and a bulbous nose. He wore the standard Iwagakure Shinobi uniform with a left sleeve and a right lapel and wore his forehead protector around his right arm.

"You called, Sandaime-sama?"

"I did" grunted the small Kage, before indicating for him to take a seat. "It regards the special assignment I gave you earlier."

At the mention of his special assignment, the veteran Jonin stiffened, knowing what this mission could mean. "Have you received some information relating to the target?"

"Yes" nodded the aged Kage. "One of our deep cover agents sent word that the target is being assigned on patrol duty along the Ame no Kuni and Hi no Kuni border."

"Strange, I thought Ame and Konoha recently agreed to a mutual defensive pact, why do they need to increase their border patrols there?" Kitsuchi asked, curious by Konoha's actions.

"Because thanks the treaty Ame has to re-establish their defensives around their western and eastern borders, this will leave some gaps in their lines for a brief time. That girl Tsunade knows this, which is why she is sending extra patrols there to monitor the borders until Ame's has secured them" explained the Tsuchikage, where Kitsuchi nodded his head, since it made sense.

"What are the details of the mission?" Kitsuchi enquired, before being handed a folder by his father.

"I want you and your team to attack the group, capture target and bring him back here...alive."

"What of the others?"

"They're to be eliminated" answered Ōnoki. "I don't want anyone reporting back to Konoha telling them what happened. You and your team are to make it look like Ame or one of the other villages is responsible. I don't want anything linking back to us."

"And if capturing the target proves impossible?" Kitsuchi asked, still reading the file.

"Then he is to be dealt with" the old man replied coldly, without any remorse.

"Capturing or even eliminating him won't be easy, even with the team I've picked" remarked Kitsuchi, looking at the photos of who would be accompanying the target, some of whom he knew from previous encounters.

"Yes I am aware of that" nodded the elderly Kage. "That's why I'm having a full company join you on this mission; they've orders to assist you on your mission. You'll have overall command, but the company will have their own leader."

Under normal circumstances Kitsuchi would've considered sending a full company to assist him on a mission like this overkill. But given the calibre of some of the Shinobi they'd be facing, they would need every one of those Shinobi if they were to succeed. The only problem being that it would be difficult to get through Ame no Kuni unnoticed with such a large group. (1)

"Have you finalized the members of your team?"

"Yes!" answered Kitsuchi, closing the folder he'd been given. "I've decided on a four man team counting myself, Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, who have firsthand knowledge on what the target can do. Monga will also be joining the team as my second in command."

"Good" said the Tsuchikage, finding the team acceptable.

"Who will be in command of the company?"

"Aotsuchi" (2)

At the mention of Aotsuchi, Kitsuchi frowned. "Aotsuchi? Are you sure that's wise Sandaime-sama? The woman doesn't exactly have a stellar reputation within the village."

"I am aware of that" replied the Tsuchikage with his own frown, having heard the rumours himself. "But she is a skilled Kunoichi and has accomplished many difficult missions."

"At the cost of her subordinates" Kitsuchi retorted, with no small amount of disgust. Aotsuchi was well known for sacrificing her own subordinates to defeat her opponents. She had the highest casualty rate out of all the Jonin in the village, earning her the moniker, Genin Goroshi no Aotsuchi (Genin Killer Aotsuchi). The fact that she showed no remorse for the deaths of her fallen comrades made her even more detested by other Shinobi. She was even a borderline sadist, where Kitsuchi had heard rumours from other Shinobi about how she enjoyed cutting up defeated enemy Shinobi with her Katana, even when they were already dead.

"This is not a discussion, it's an order!" growled the Tsuchikage before slamming his fist down onto his desk. "I don't care if you like the woman or despise her; we only have one chance at this before Ame seals their borders again. You will work with her and accomplish your mission, am I clear?!"

For a moment, neither the Tsuchikage nor his son said anything, and just stared coldly at one another.

Eventually though Kitsuchi stood from his seat and tossed the folder onto his father's desk, causing the photos and papers to spill out, "Hai Tsuchikage-sama" almost spitting out the words. He then turned around and left the office, slamming the door shut behind him.

After his son had left, the Tsuchikage sat alone in his office for several minutes, staring at the closed door angrily before slamming his fist onto his desk again and yelling "Damnit all!"

Once he had calmed down, the Tsuchikage picked up one of the pictures that had spilled out of the folder when his son threw it. The was a picture of a young boy with spiky blonde hair and bright blue eyes, with the name "Senju Naruto" written on the bottom, along with the word "Target."

"All this trouble for one brat" grumbled the elder Kage to himself. Placing the picture down and tidying up his desk. He then floated out of his chair and out an open window, deciding to get some fresh air, to clear his head.

Back in Konoha, the newly installed Godaime Hokage, Senju Tsunade, was in a meeting with her son and his two teachers, whom she had just called.

"You requested us Hokage-sama?" asked Yamato,

"I did," said the female Hokage, looking up from her work. "I have a new mission for the three of you."

"Alright!" cheered Naruto, pumping up his fist in the air, he hadn't been on a mission since Cha no Kuni (Tea Country).

"What exactly are the mission parameters?" Yamato asked.

"A standard C rank patrol mission near the Ame no Kuni, Hi no Kuni boarders" Tsunade replied.

"Are you expecting something from Ame?" Kushina asked.

"Not exactly" the busty Kage replied. "Ame is holding up their end of the agreement and are securing their borders to Tsuchi no Kuni (Earth Country). But they need to reorganize their defences, which will take a few days. Iwa probably knows this and might make one last attack on our borders before that."

"Don't we have enough forces there already?" Kushina asked, knowing that Konoha had several bases along the Hi no Kuni, Ame borders.

"Given our recent pact with Ame, I've diverted a large portion of our forces from the borders there to strengthen our borders with Tsuki no Kuni, since that is the only other nation Iwa can travel through safely. We still have enough Shinobi there to protect the border, but they're bit short handed with keeping the patrols up, which is why I am sending you and one other team to help them out."

"Don't worry Kaa-chan if we see any Iwa Shinobi, we'll kick their asses and send them back running!" Naruto declared. But no sooner had he said those words, Tsunade slammed her hand onto her desk, causing it to crack slightly, and shouted "NO!"

"Your orders are to simply patrol the borders, and in the unlikely event that Iwa does try something, you're to fall back and report to our base at Gōenka, do you understand Naruto?!"

Cowing before the stern look his mother was giving him, Naruto nodded his head.

Satisfied with this, Tsunade told them they were to leave tomorrow morning and would meet up with the other team at the main gate.

After dismissing the group, Tsunade held Kushina back, "Kushina my orders regarding Naruto still stand, I expect you to follow through with them to the letter this time, am I clear?" Giving the red headed Jonin the same stern look she gave her son.

"As Glass, Hokage-sama" replied the nervous looking redhead, remembering the lecturing she got from the female Hokage after their return to Konoha. Tsunade even threatened that if she ever diverted from her mission parameters again, she'd have Kushina demoted back to a Genin faster than she could eat ramen, and would have her do D rank missions for the rest of her career.

"Good" replied the blonde woman before dismissing Kushina, who quickly left the office.

The following morning Naruto and his two teachers arrived at the main gate, where they met the other team.

The first man was a Jonin by the name of Shirakumo Hayama, who was the leader of the other team. Hayama wore the standard Konoha Shinobi outfit, albeit his uniform had short sleeves. He had long dull dark-grey hair held in a ponytail and a distinctive looking scar running down the right side of his mouth and pronounced tear troughs under his eyes. He also wore a pair of fingerless gloves and carried a thin katana strapped horizontally to his back, which indicated he was skilled with a sword.

The second man was Kanden Tekuno, and like Hayama was a Jonin. Tekuno was a robust man with shaggy brown hair. Like Hayama, Kushina and Yamato, Tekuno wore the standard attire of a Konoha Shinobi along with a pair of fingerless gloves. Although he wore his flak jacket unzipped showing a utility sash which Naruto guess held scrolls and weapons holds several scrolls.

After meeting and greeting the two Jonin, Naruto noticed a short, elderly looking man standing behind them.

The old man was short in stature with grey hair that was tied in a short ponytail. He wore a mesh armour shirt under a short, brown, sleeveless kimono with a pair of grey pants. On his back he carried a wok and ladle, which Naruto guessed was for cooking, along with a sword sheathed horizontally across his lower back.

Thinking the man was lost or looking for someone, Naruto walked over to the elderly man. "Oh, Oji-san, is there something we can help you with? We are kind of having a meeting here."

Before the old man could reply, Naruto was suddenly slapped on the head by Kushina, who seemed more than a little annoyed with him.

"Naruto! Be more respectful to Kosuke-san!" the redhead berated, before turning to Kosuke. "Please forgive my student, Kosuke-san, he means no disrespect, he can just be a bit of a blockhead at times."

Amused by the antics of the two, the old man smiled good naturedly, "Hohohoo, no apologies needed Kushina-san."

"Still..." said the redhead, "I'm glad to see that you're doing well, you haven't changed a bit."

"Oh I have" chuckled the old man. "This old body of mine has aged quite a bit; you on the other hand, are just as lovely as ever."

Embarrassed by the elderly man's comment, Kushina said nothing, although her cheeks turned a healthy pink.

"You know him?" Naruto asked, rubbing his still swore head.

Before the Kushina could respond, Tekuno laughed, "Hah, haven't you ever heard of Maruboshi Kosuke, the Mannen Genin (The Eternal Genin)?"

"Eternal Genin?" repeated Naruto, having never heard of the name before.

"Yea" replied the smiling Jonin, "According to rumours he's been a Genin for about fifty years."

"Fifty year!" a stunned Naruto said, looking at the old man in surprise. Sure he had seen some adults and middle age men who were still Genin back in the Chunin exam. But he didn't think it was possible for a person to stay a Genin that long.

At the same time, Naruto felt like he was forgetting something, for some reason Kosuke's name sounded familiar to him, as if he had heard it from someone.

"Hey Captain, isn't there anyone a little better, even the Senju kid here seems more capable than him" Tekuno moaned.

Surprisingly Kosuke took no offence to the young Jonin's complaint, and instead smiled, indicating he was either use to such remarks or didn't care about them. Kushina on the other hand was not as forgiving.

"I suggest you watch your mouth Kanden!" snarled the female Jonin, giving the younger man a withering glare. "Kosuke-san is more capable than you could ever know and is someone you would want on your side when in a fight. So I suggest that you show him the respect he deserves."

"Agreed" added Hayama, joining the conversation. "I personally asked Kosuke-san to accompany us on this mission. Despite his appearance, he is a reliable person to have around."

Not wanting to get on Kushina's bad side anymore than he already had, Tekuno quickly apologised for his remarks. Although he had only recently become a Jonin, Tekuno had heard plenty of stories about the female Uzumaki, which told him that she was not someone he wanted to piss off.

With the dispute regarding Kosuke and Tekuno settled, Yamato suggested that they leave for Gōenka base, in the hope of avoiding any more arguments.

Agreeing with suggestion, Hayama offered to take the lead, where the two groups quickly took off.

-Several Days Later-

After arriving at Gōenka base, Naruto and the others met with the base commander, who wasted no time in telling them what sector they would be patrolling.

When they had arrived at the designated location, the two teams began search the area of any hidden enemies. Once they were certain that the area was secure, the two teams began setting up traps, in the event that they came under attack or an enemy snuck pass them.

"Kosuke-san, you know this area pretty well, do you know if there are any suitable places to make camp?" Yamato asked, after he and the others had finished setting up the last of their traps and had regrouped.

"Oh yes," nodded the old Shinobi. "The Nidaime Hokage-sama's cave is near here."

"The Nidaime?" asked the Senior Mokuton user.

"It's a cave that I found, many years ago, back when I came here under the command of the Nidaime Hokage-sama."

"Wait! You served directly under my Great Granduncle?" Naruto asked, surprised by the news.

"Hai" replied the old man. "When you've been a Genin for as long as I have, you're likely to work with many great Shinobi masters. Over the years I also served with your Godfather Jiraiya-sama of the Densetsu no Sannin (Legendary Three Ninja), as well as Sakumo-sama, known as the Shiroi Kiba (White Fang), the Yondaime Hokage-sama and the Sandaime Hokage-sama."

"He served with Tou-san, Ero-senin and Jiji?! Wait...! Now I remember why his name sounded so familiar, Ero-senin mentioned him a few times when he was telling me about some of his past missions."

Not believing Kosuke's story, Tokune laughed, "Heh, They sound like pretty long tall tales to me."

Tekuno although didn't laugh for very long, courtesy of a dangerous glare from Kushina, which made the younger Jonin stop laughing and gulp, when he caught the look the former ANBU captain was giving him.

Wanting to avoid another argument, Yamato suggested that the head to the cave Kosuke suggested and make camp before it got dark.

Not wanting to be caught unprepared for the night to come, Kushina agreed and asked Kosuke to lead the way. But not before giving Tekuno one last glare, causing the young man to sweat a little.

Once they arrived at the cave, Kosuke offered to catch the food and prepare dinner while the others were preparing the traps and setting up camp. Welcoming the idea of a hot meal, everyone almost immediately agreed to the suggestion.

With Kosuke preparing dinner, Kushina decided to take charge and assign everyone with duties, being the most senior member of the four Jonin present. She assigned Yamato with lookout duty, and then had Hayama and Tekuno set up traps on their eastern and southern flanks, while she and Naruto set up traps on their northern and western flanks.

After finishing setting up traps on the northern flank and having half the traps for the western flank finished, Naruto decided to ask his teacher something he had been on his mind. "Kushina-sensei, why do you get so angry when someone makes fun of Kosuke-san?"

"Because most people undervalue Kosuke-san simply because he's an old Genin. They forget that rank does not show a person's strength" Kushina answered after she finished placing the last seal for a barrier that she had prepared around the camp.

Agreeing with his sensei's sentiments when it a person rank, Naruto nodded, but before he could say anything, Kushina continued. "It's also because, if it wasn't for him, I'd be dead."

Seeing the confused look on Naruto's face, the redheaded Jonin explained further."Several years ago, back before the Third Great Shinobi World War had started, I was sent on a mission with a group of Shinobi, one of them being Kosuke. We were sent on mission to deal with a small group of Kumo Shinobi that had infiltrated our borders. Naturally we dealt with them easily enough and chased them out, but that's when things went bad."

"What happened?" asked Naruto.

Looking up at the slowly setting sun, Kushina sighed before turning to Naruto. "I was young back then, and hadn't been a Chunin long, like Tokune and others; I undervalued Kosuke, thinking he was just a weak old Genin. After we had chased the Kumo Shinobi out of Hi no Kuni, our captain ordered us to return to the village, but I disagreed. I wanted to pursue the Kumo Shinobi and kill them all, and send a message to Kumo on what happens to their Shinobi when they enter our lands."

"You wanted to kill them all!" Naruto repeated, shocked that his teacher normally kind and caring teacher could act so callously. "Even after you had defeated them?"

"I was young and angry back then" the redhead replied sadly, somewhat ashamed of her past actions. "It wasn't long after Kumo tried to kidnap me, and I wanted payback, not only for what they tried to do to me. But also because of the part they played in the destruction Uzushiogakure (Hidden Whirlpool), and like the hot headed fool that I was back then. I ignored our captain's orders and chased after the Kumo Shinobi across our borders, thinking I could handle the group by myself. But I soon realised how wrong I was when I found myself surrounded by a platoon of Kumo Shinobi. I then realized that the Kumo Shinobi we had defeated earlier were just a feint to lure us out of Hi no Kuni, so the main force could ambush us."

"So what happened?" asked Naruto.

"Realizing that I had fallen into their trap, I tried to escape, but I was easily overwhelmed by their numbers. But before they could bring me back to Kumo, Kosuke arrived, having followed me. He then single-handedly defeated a dozen Kumo Shinobi and then covered me as we retreated back across our borders. By then he had killed about twenty Kumo Shinobi in total, half-of the enemy's force."

When Kushina finished her story, Naruto's opinion of Kosuke soared and developed a newfound respect for the elderly man. He also began to understand why his sensei got so angry when people made fun of or insulted Kosuke, since he had saved her life at the risk of his own.

"Kosuke, must be incredibly strong" Naruto remarked.

"He is" nodded Kushina, "In terms of skills, he could easily be a Jonin, which is why those of us, who know how skilled he really is, refer to him as Konoha Saikyō no Genin (Konoha's Strongest Genin). I even heard that for a time he was trained by the Nidame Hokage."

"Seriously?!" Naruto asked, surprised by the news, having never heard this. To the best of his knowledge the Sandaime and the two Shinobi elders Koharu and Homura were his Great Granduncle's only students. "Then why is someone as strong as him still a Genin?"

Before Kushina could answer, she and Naruto suddenly heard some movement coming from the bushes behind them, thinking it was an enemy; the two readied themselves. But before they could attack, Kosuke emerged from the bushes carrying a large amount of fish, mushroom and plants in his wok."

"Kosuke!" cried Kushina, "What are you doing here? We nearly attacked you."

"Hohohoho, then it's a good thing you didn't" replied the smiling old man. "I apologise for startling you both, I just came by after gathering everything I needed and was wondering if I could I ask one of you to help with the cooking."

Nodding in understanding, Kushina turned to Naruto, "You go with Kosuke-san, I can handle the rest here by myself."

"Sure thing" said Naruto before heading back to the camp with Kosuke.

Shortly after, the camp was filled with the delicious smell of food being cooked.

"Hhooo you're quite good at that Naruto-san" Kosuke commented, as he watched Naruto sake the wok over the fire and stir the food, while he was cut up some mushroom.

"Thanks" Naruto replied. "I had a lot of practice helping Shizune-nee when I was younger."

"I see" said the old man before going back to cutting up the mushrooms. But his attention soon split when he heard Naruto speaking to him again.

"Kosuke-san, can I ask you something?"

"You may" Kosuke replied as he continued to cut the mushrooms.

"Why are you still a Genin? Kushina-sensei told me how strong you really are, and of the time you saved her from the Kumo Shinobi. She even said that you were once a student of my Great Granduncle the Nidaime Hokage."

As soon as Naruto had asked this question, Kosuke stopped cutting and his smile almost immediately faded, and was replaced by a sad depressed look.

Seeing this, Naruto quickly regretted asking the question, realizing that he may have dragged up some painful memories for the elderly Genin. But before he could say anything, he heard Kosuke say, "I'm not worthy of being a Jonin."

"What do you mean?" asked Naruto before he could stop himself. "According to Kushina Sensei your plenty strong, with your skill you could be easily become a Jonin."

"There is more to being a Jonin than simple strength or skill Naruto-san" Kosuke answered before going back to cutting up the mushrooms, but at a much slower pace than before. When he saw the confused look on Naruto's face he decided to explain further. "Jonin are elite Shinobi, who not only take on dangerous missions for our village. But are also the teachers for younger Shinobi like you Naruto-san. They're responsible for leading and protecting those who are under their command; I do not fit into that category."

"Why not?" asked Naruto, given Kosuke's actions when he risked his life to save Kushin, he clearly fitted into the category of a Jonin leader.

Halting his cutting, the elderly man closed his eyes and sighed deeply, as memories of his past flooded his head. He then slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at Naruto, his eyes filled with sadness and shame. "Long ago, when I was not much older than you Naruto-san, I made a reckless decision that cost my teammates their lives. If I had thought things through more carefully and been more patient, it's likely they would've lived. But I was young and foolish, blinded by pride, and eager to be promoted...that's why I've remained a Genin for this long. A man who causes the death of his own comrades is not worthy of leading others."

Ashamed of how he had dug up such painful memories for Kosuke, Naruto quickly apologised, stating that he shouldn't have asked and that it had been none of his business.

Kosuke though just smiled, like he normally would, and said it was fine and that he couldn't have known. But despite the old man's assurances Naruto still felt awful for digging up his past, and asked nothing more of him.

Not long after, Kushina and the others returned to the camp, having finished setting up the traps around the camp, Yamato was also with them, after left a clone to take over his watch until he returned. Dinner was an enjoyable event for the group, where the team talked and shared stories of past missions with each other.

"Mmmm, this is great!" praised Tokune, as he continued to dig into his stew.

"I told you Kosuke-san was a useful person to have around" Hayama replied. Tokune though just nodded in agreement, his mouth being too full of stew to say anything.

"Hohohoho, thank you, but I cannot take all the credit, Naruto-san helped out quite a bit, he's rather good at it."

Surprised by this news, Kushina turned to her student/charge, "You cook?"

"Yeah" Naruto nodded, "When I was younger, I use to help Shizune-nee out all the time in the kitchen; she then taught me how to cook before I came to Konoha so that I could take care of myself."

"Did Tsunade-sama not help?" Yamato asked which caused Naruto to suddenly burst out laughing.

"Kaa-chan COOK?! No way, she's completely hopeless in the kitchen! One time when I was six she tried to make me some ramen, but set the microwave too high and caused the ramen cup to explode the moment she opened the door. Another time, when Shizune-nee and I had gone grocery shopping, she decided to make herself some tea, by the time we got back she had half the kitchen burnt down, we still don't know how she did it. But after that Shizune-nee banned Kaa-chan from ever entering a kitchen, or from ever cooking again."

When Naruto finished his stories, everyone, including Yamato and Hayama, burst out laughing as they pictured Tsunade standing in the middle of a burnt down kitchen, after trying to make something as simple as a cup of tea.

"Buhahha that has got to be the funniest I've ever heard" laughed Tokune, nearly spitting out his food from laughing so hard.

Tekuno was of course not the only one, as Kushina nearly choked on a piece of meat she had just swallowed, after hearing the stories. She even remarked that she would've paid good money to see Tsunade trying to cook.

"I suggest that you don't let the news of you being able cook get out," Kushina grinned after taking another bite of her food. "Not unless you want your status as one of the most desirable boys in the village to be strengthened. You'd be surprised by how few male Shinobi there are who can cook or would even try to cook."

Embarrassed by what his teacher/guard had said, Naruto focused his attention of his dinner, so to hide the pinkness on his cheeks.

Unfortunately for the young blonde, this was only the start of his teasing, as the other members of the group were curious by Kushina's comment.

"The most desirable boy in the village?" Kosuke asked with a hint of merit in his voice, having never heard of this.

Smiling broadly, the female Uzumaki nodded, "Oh yea, you wouldn't think it, but our brat here is quite the heartthrob, he already has his own personal fan club."

"Really?" asked the amused Tekuno, glancing over at Naruto, who refused to look up and continue to stare at his food. But if one were to look closely enough they would've seen Naruto gripping his bowl tighter, causing it to slowly crack.

Seeing this, Yamato wisely decided to move away from his partner, having an idea of what would happen next. Kushina on the other hand continued, as teasing Naruto about his love life was one of her main source of entertainment, he made it just too easy for her.

"Now that you mention it, I heard some rumours about that. I even heard that the Yamanaka heiress is the head of that fan club you mention" Tekuno remarked with a smile when he saw even more crack appear on Naruto's bowl.

"Oh but it gets better" added the grinning redhead, deciding to throw oil onto the already raging conflagration. "I even heard that the Hyuga heiress has a little crush on him. Not to mention that Yuki girl from Kiri and maybe even that Yugito girl from Kumo. And of course we can't forget Mai-chan now can we Naruto?" emphasizing Mai's name, causing Naruto to go even redder.

"You mean Sanshōuo no Hanzō (Hanzō of the Salamander) granddaughter?" asked Hayama with some surprise, having heard that the granddaughter of the legendary Shinobi had entered the Chunin exam.

"The same."

"Damn, way to go kid" Tekuno congratulated quietly, he had heard the stories how attractive the young Hattori girl was from other Shinobi, not to mention her choice of outfits. "Maybe I should start asking him for some tips."

"It's nothing like that!" Naruto said suddenly, as he looked up and glared angrily at his grinning teacher. Sadly his glare was made far less intimating due to the redness of his cheeks, from blushing so much. "We're just friends...THAT'S IT!"

"Really?" replied the female Uzumaki, "Well you must be very close to your friends, especially your female friends like Mai-chan, after all you did make out with her right in front of everyone at the preliminaries." At the mention of the preliminaries, Naruto's face went completely red, both Yamato and Hayama seemed uncomfortable at the topic of conversation and focused on their meals. Tekuno although was grinning as he listened intently to Kushina, while Kosuke just smiled in amusement.

Kushina looked over at Naruto and saw that the boy had gained an almost violent vein pulsing on his forehead to go along with his now twitching eyebrow.

At that moment Kushina decided to push the final button. "Maybe I should tell the guys here, all about your little rematch with Mai-chan and how ended."

No sooner had she said this, Naruto's eyes widened in horror, "YOU SWORE YOU WOULD NEVER TELL!" his face now practically glowing red, where anyone could see him in the dark.

"I did no such thing" Kushina replied cheekily before turning to the others. "You see guys, our little Casanova here was able to get to second base with Hanzo granddaughter, all without even trying... (3)." But before Kushina could go into detail about what happened, Naruto's bowl shattered in his hand. He then leapt forward, and shouted "DDDIIIIEEE!" as he attempted to strangle the source of his humiliation. But Kushina was ready for him and jumped off the log she was sitting on and landed a few feet away from him.

Determined to make his teacher/guard pay for the humiliation he had suffered. Naruto chased after her.

Watching as they two raced around the camp, Kosuke and Tekuno laughed and cheered Naruto on, as he tried to capture the redheaded Jonin.

Yamato on the other hand just signed and took a second helping of the food.

"I take it this is a common occurrence with these two?" Hayama asked, he knew what Kuhsina was like, having severed with her several times, but this was his first time working with Naruto.

"I afraid so" Yamato sighed, well use to being the only mature person on his team.

"Don't you think we should stop them?"

"They'll get tired...eventually" explained the Mokuton user, before going back to his meal and watched as Naruto chased after the cackling woman, shouting out curses and saying what he would do to her once he got hold of her.

-A Few Days Later-

The following next few days passed peacefully enough for the group, with no sign of any Shinobi from Iwa. But despite the fact that their patrol duty was nearing an end, the group did not relax and continued their vigil over the border.

During that time the group continued to lay out traps around the surrounding area, while keeping a look out for any possible intruders. Yamato and Kushina also took advantage of the time to continue Naruto's training. Kosuke and the others would even sometimes help out or offer to spar against him and give him some tips on what to improve on. In return Naruto helped out Kosuke with the food preparation, where the elderly Shinobi not only gave him some recipes for some dishes he had made. But tips on what plants and things could help improve the flavouring of food. He even shared some stories of his previous adventures with not only the Sandaime, and Jiraiya, but also Sakumo and the Yondaime, which Naruto was grateful for.

Later that night, while Naruto and most of the others were at the camp eating dinner, a large group of Iwa Shinobi were gathered together at the Ame no Kuni, Hi no Kuni border.

After receiving reports from their scouts on Naruto and the other's location, the leader of the group, captain Kitsuchi, began drawing on the ground, explaining his plan to his squad leaders.

"The plan is simple; we will split into three groups, Monga and I will take forty men, which is half our strength, Aotsuchi will take thirty and Kurotsuhi and will be in charge of the remaining ten, with Akatsuchi supporting her. Monga and I will cross the border and act as a decoy and distract the Konoha Shinobi. But once they see our numbers they'll probably try to retreat and warn their base at Gōenka. That is where your group comes in Aotsuchi" explained Kitsuchi, glancing at the female Jonin next to him. "While Monga and I keep the enemy distracted, I want your group to head north and circle around the Konoha Shinobi, outflanking them, forcing them to head east, where Kurotsuchi and her group will be lying in wait, trapping them between our forces. Once we have them surrounded, we'll capture the boy, kill the others, and leave just enough evidence that suggests that they were attacked by Shinobi from Amegakure (Hidden Rain). If everything goes well, we'll have the Senju heir, Konoha will never know the truth and believe that Ame betrayed them, causing them to break their treaty and declare war on Ame."

"Is the boy really worth all this trouble? I know he possesses the same Mokuton powers as his ancestor the Shodai Hokage, but still, doesn't this seem just a little extreme?" Kitsuchi's second in command, Monga asked.

Monga was a tall and muscular built man. He had dark hair, a wide nose and grey blue fang-shaped markings beneath the centre of his eyes. He wore the standard Iwagakure outfit, consisting of red clothing with a left sleeve and lapel. He wore his red forehead protector in a bandana style which was tied in the back. (4)

"The Tsuchikage-sama believes so, and I agree, during the Konoha invasion the boy fought and defeated both the Shukaku and Nibi jinchuriki, which is no easy feat for any Shinobi. So if he can do that, after being a Genin for just six months, imagine what he can do when he is older."

Seeing the logic of Kitsuchi's reasoning, Monga nodded, after which Kitsuchi turned to the rest of the group, "Are there any other questions?"

"I have one" voiced Aotsuchi.

Aotsuchi was an attractive young woman, with long brown-coloured hair that she tied in a ball on top of her head, using a pair of large needles, while two large locks with darkened tips frame the remainder of her face. Her attire consists of a short sleeveless dress, further adorned by the presence of numerous bandages that encircle various portions of her body, including her waist and thighs, and carried a long Katana on her back.

"If this mission is so important, why do you give command of a squad to a little girl like her," Aotsuchi asked, looking at Kurotsuchi, who glared angrily at the older woman. "Especially since she's only been a Chunin for less than a year."

Sensing his daughter's hostility, Kitsuchi quickly intervened to prevent an escalation to the argument. "Kurotsuchi is a skilled and capable Kunoichi, she also has firsthand knowledge on what the Senju heir is capable of, which will be key to the success of this mission...and I trust her abilities."

Unimpressed, Aotsuchi scoffed, "Che, sounds more like favouritism to me."

Before Kitsuchi could respond, Kurotsuchi suddenly stood up and took a step closer to Aotsuchi, who also stood up. "If you got a problem with me, how about we settle this here and now" growled the young girl, as she was almost nose to nose with Aotsuchi.

Sneering back, Aotsuchi replied "Anytime, princess." But before a fight could wrupt, Kitsuchi stood up and shouted "ENOUGH!" causing everyone to look at him. "The two of you are Kunoichi of Iwa, and you act accordingly."

Turning his attention to Aotsuchi, the Jonin captain then said "Aotsuchi, if you have a problem with how I do things, you're welcome to leave and return to Iwa, where I will have someone else take your place. If not you'll keep your remarks to yourself and do what you're told, am I understood?" growling out the last part.

For a moment Aotsuchi said nothing, and stared back defiantly at the taller man, but eventually relented, "Fine" she scoffed, "Your princess can be in charge."

Growling at the woman's obvious disrespect, Kitsuchi dismissed her and told her to get her people ready for the mission. Nodding, Aotsuchi then walked away, but not before glancing at Kurotsuchi one last time. "Another time princess, when your daddy isn't around to protect you."

Growling at the remark, Kurotsuchi was about retort, but was stopped when she felt her father's hand on her shoulder.

"I really hate that bitch" Kurotsuchi muttered as she watched Aotsuchi walk away.

"I don't like her anymore than you do, but for now we have to work with her, we cannot afford infighting, so for the time being we'll just have to endure her."

"Fine" grumbled the girl, "But I still don't see why jiji wants us to capture that Senju brat, it would be easier if we just killed him and be done with it."

"The Tsuchikage-sama believes he is more useful to us alive, if capturing seems impossible, we're to kill him" Kitsuchi replied.

Nodding, Kurotsuchi walked away to get her squad ready, while her father began giving out orders the rest of the squad leaders, telling them they would move out at dawn.

Back at the Hi no Kuni border, atop a Cliffside overlooking the borders between the Hi and Ame borders, a tired Naruto let out a large yawn as he watched the sun slowly rise from the horizon. It had been a long night as it had been his turn to go on the night watch, but he didn't mind, he enjoyed watching the sunrise, since it was one of his mornings were his favourite parts of the day.

With his watch now over, Naruto figured that he would head back to camp and change guard with Tekuno, who was next to go on watch. But just as he was about to deactivate the clones he had scattered around the area. He suddenly felt one of his clones being destroyed, and received its memories. The clone that had been destroyed had been one he'd positioned near the border, to keep watch

Upon receiving the clone's memories, Naruto struggled to sort them out, as the memories were jumbled up, due to the clone's sudden "death." But there was one image that stuck out clearly in his mind, the memory of an Iwa Shinobi stabbing his clone with a Tanto.

"Shit!" cursed Naruto, racing back to camp to warn the others.

When he arrived he found Kushina and the rest of the group sitting around the campfire eating breakfast.

"Right on time Naruto" Kushina greeted, when she saw the blonde boy. "Come on over and have some breakfast, Tekuno was just finishing up breakfast and was about to relieve you."

"There's no time for that, Iwa Shinobi are on their way here, one of the clones I sent to the edge of the border was destroyed."

Upon learning that Iwa Shinobi were on their way, everyone quickly dropped their food and began gathering their gear.

"Do you know how many?" Hayama asked.

"I'm not sure, my clone only saw one before it was destroyed."

"That was probably a scout sent ahead of the group, we could be dealing with a squad."

"If that's the case we should be able to handle them by ourselves" said Tekuno.

"If it's just a squad then yes, but there could be a lot more on the way" added Kosuke.

Agreeing with the elderly man, Hayama turned to Kushina, who had seniority over him, "What do you suggest Kushina-san?"

"We should investigate the enemy numbers first, we've had traps set up all around their area, so they won't be able to sneak up on us without trigging some, and should their numbers prove too large, we'll fall back to Gōenka and use the traps as cover."

Nodding in agreement, Hayama and the others finished gathering their gear and headed off to intercept the Iwa Shinobi.

After travelling for several minutes, the Konoha groups arrived at an open field with high grass, which the Iwa Shinobi would have to cross to reach them.

The group didn't have to wait long, as they soon saw a pair of Iwa Shinobi racing towards them across the grassy plain. Once they were in position Hayama activated one of the traps in the field, causing steel wire to appear out of the ground and wrap themselves around the two, preventing them from moving.

Appearing on a large boulder overlooking the two Shinobi, Hayama asked the two Shinobi what they were doing here.

In response he was met with a hail of Shuriken and Kunai, fired by the rest of the Iwa party, who suddenly appeared all around him.

When the projectiles hit, Hayama exploded into a shower of leaves, revealing him to be a leaf clone.

Having received his answer, the real Hayama, hidden within the nearby trees, gave Tokune the order to activate the rest of the traps, causing the field to explode and killing four Iwa Shinobi.

"How many were there?" asked Tekuno.

"I counted about forty" Hayama answered.

"Damn, that's more than a simple scouting or raiding party, that's a full platoon" said the hefty Jonin.

"We need to fall back to Gōenka and warn them" said Yamato.

"But we can still take them" said Naruto, "We have the advantage here."

"No!" answered Kushina, causing the rest of the group to look at her, as her normal cheerful demeanour gone and replaced to a stern serious one, which Yamato was all too familiar with from his ANBU days with Kushina. "Taking on a group that large would not only be reckless but foolish as well, there could me more Shinobi hidden elsewhere, and we don't know what level these Shinobi are at. The Hokage's orders were clear, we are to strictly monitor the border and warn the base of any possible attacks, not engage them."

Realizing that his teacher/guard was right, Naruto grudgingly agreed, where the group soon took off, jumping through the tree tops.

Before long, the Iwa Shinobi caught up to them and began to surround them.

"Crap they got us hemmed in!" said Naruto, when he saw the Iwa Shinobi appear around them.

"The left and right are just diversions! Look up!" warned Hayama.

Heeding the man's warning, Naruto looked up and saw a large number of the enemy Shinobi appear above them, unleashing a hail of Kunai down on them.

Before Naruto or any of the others could intercept, Hayama drew his tanto sword and shouted "Shinkūken (Vacuum Sword)!" creating a large gust of Wind, which deflected the Kunai.

After dealing with the projectiles, the groups arrived at their first line of defence, where Tokune activated the traps, causing a web of Shinobi wire to appeared out of the surrounding trees, catching nine of the enemy Shinobi.

With the Shinobi trap, Tekuno activated the exploding notes ties to the steel wire, killing the Shinobi.

As the smoke from the explosion covered the area, Hayama turned to Kushina, "Kushina-san, I suggest that we change strategy, at least one of us needs to make it back Gōenka. I stay behind and hold the enemy off while the rest of you leave."

"Hayama we can't leave you here alone!" Kushina argued, but before she could say anything more, Yamato spoke.

"He won't be, I'll stay here and support him, the rest of you should go while the smoke covers your retreat."

Knowing that there wouldn't be any point in arguing with them, Kushina nodded, and ordered the rest of the group to follow after her. Naruto was the last to leave, being more than a little reluctant to leave Yamato and Hayama to fight the enemy Shinobi by themselves.

Once Kushina and the others had left, Yamato and Hayama waited for the smoke to dissipate, but before that could happen, the ground beneath them suddenly exploded.

"Shit! An Earth Jutsu!" cursed Hayama, as he and Yamato were flung into the air and into the path of several Kunai that appeared out of the smoke.

Acting on pure instinct, the two Jonin replaced themselves with several wooden logs. Appearing atop a nearby tree, Yamato fired three wooden spikes from his arms. At the same time, Hayama, who was standing next to Yamatao, used his Shinkūken technique to create another powerful gust of Wind and combined it with Yamato's attack, drastically increasing the wood spikes speed and power, impaling the three Shinobi.

Moments after dealing with the three Shinobi, the two Konoha Jonin found themselves surrounded by the remainder of the Iwa party, forcing them to stand back to back to one another.

"Damnit, this is costing us more than we expected, we've already lost a third of our men, and we've only separated two of them from the group" Kitsuchi growled to himself, before turning to his second in command. "Monga I want you to take four men and make sure they don't leave here alive...The rest of you will come with me!"

With resounding "Hai" the majority of the Iwa Shinobi took after their leader.

Yamato and Hayama attempted to follow, but were stopped when a Kunai with an exploding note tied to it stabbed the tree they were on, forcing the two to jump off before it exploded, causing them to fall to the ground.

After landing on the ground, Yamato and Hayama quickly found their path blocked by Mango and his four subordinates.

Hoping the deal with the five Iwa Shinobi quickly, Yamato and Hayama attempted the same combination they performed before, where Yamato fired a dozen or so wood spikes, which Hayama enhanced with his Shinkūken technique. Unfortunately this time the Iwa Shinobi were ready.

"Don't think we will fall for the same trick twice!" shouted Monga as he created an Earth wall to block the high speed wooden spikes, which impaled themselves into the Earth wall. After which Monga then took out a large number of exploding tags from his pouch and slammed them onto the Earth wall. He then used the Chidōkaku (Moving Earth Core) technique to raise the ground underneath him and his comrades into the air and jumped behind the raised ground, where in an impressive feat of strength, pushed it into the Earth wall and activated the exploding notes, creating a massive barrage of debris which flew straight towards Yamato and Hayama.

With only seconds to act, Yamato created a large wooden dome around him and Hayama, protecting them from the flying debris.

Upon seeing the large wooden dome, many of the Iwa Shinobi were naturally surprised and confused when they saw another Konoha Shinobi being able to perform Mokuton.

"What's going on?" asked one of the surprised Iwa Shinobi. "I thought the Senju heir was the only one who inherited the Shodai Hokage's Mokuton Bloodline limit!"

"Is he somehow related to the boy and Tsunade-sama?" another one asked.

"No" replied Monga, frowning after seeing Yamato's Wood dome. "Recently there have been rumours going around about of another Shinobi being about to perform Mokuton, through artificial means. I honestly didn't' think they were true, but it seems they were."

"We should capture as well, we may be able to learn more about Mokuton if we bring both him and the boy to Iwa" said another Iwa Shinobi. "And if we have to kill him, we still might be able to learn something from his body."

Nodding in agreement, Monga then formed a single hand sign and slammed both his hands onto the ground and yelled "Doton: Dosekidake (Earth Style: Earth and Stone Bamboo Shoot)!" creating four large spikes that sprung out of the ground and piercing the Wood dome from four separate directions.

Believing that Yamato and Hayama were dealt with, Monga order his men to recover the bodies, but before any of them could even take a step towards the dome. Several large wooden roots suddenly sprung out of the ground and began to attack the Iwa Shinobi, forcing them to scatter and move back.

Shortly afterwards, Yamato emerged out of the ground with Hayama, revealing that they had escaped the dome right before Monga's Earth spikes pierced the Wooden dome.

"This may prove more difficult that we thought" Monga said to himself, after he and his men regrouped. "You two won't be leaving this place alive."

Smirking a little, Yamato replied "That's funny, we were about to say the same thing to you."

"Don't underestimate the Shinobi of the Hidden leaf" Hayama added coolly, as he readied his sword, before he and Yamato re-engaged the Iwa Shinobi.

-With Naruto and the others-

"Kushina-sensei, are you sure leaving Yamato-sensei and Hayama-san to hold off the enemy was the right thing to do?" Naruto asked, after leaving the two Konoha Jonin alone.

"Have faith in them Naruto" Kushina replied. "Neither of them will go down easily, Yamato especially."

Deciding to trust his Sensei, Naruto nodded and continued to jump through the tree tops.

Not long after Naruto heard Kosuke say "It seems the enemy is quite strong in numbers." Turning, Naruto was surprised to see twenty Iwa Shinobi following closely behind them.

"God damnit, even with both Yamato and Hayama acting as a rear guard, they still had enough men to split up and pursue us" Kushina cursed.

"Sensei, what'll we do?!" Naruto yelled.

"Kushina-taicho, they'll catch us before we reach the second defence line!" shouted a worried Tekuno.

"We need more time, Naruto can you buy us some?" asked Kushina.

-Enter Naruto OST Raikiri-

"No prob" grinned Naruto, as he formed a single hand sign and shouted "Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)!" creating several dozen shadow clones of himself, which quickly engaged the Iwa Shinobi.

Not long after Naruto and the others arrived at the second defensive line, but by then the Iwa Shinobi had already destroyed his shadow clones and were nearing their location.

"Crap, they've already destroyed all my clones, it won't be long before they're here!" Naruto shouted, after sensing the last of his clones being destroyed. At the same time he began cursing how his clones had been barely able to slow the enemy down.

"It doesn't matter, they did their job, now it's our turn" said Kushina drawing her Katana, while Tekuno took out some sealed scrolls to summon several Katana, a crossbow and a small cannon. "You and Kosuke should get out of here, Tekuno and I will hold them off."

Naruto of course tried to argue, saying they he would stay and fight, but before he could utter out a word. The blonde boy found his teacher's sword pointed directly at him, where said person was giving him a dark look, which would probably have made even the Kyuubi cower in fear. At that moment Naruto could have sworn he saw his teacher eyes glow red.

"Are you challenging my authority Naruto?" Kushina asked coolly. But despite the calmness of her voice, Naruto could almost sense the lethal threat behind her words, which were only made all the more dangerous by the fact that she still had her Katana pointed at him.

"N-N-N-No, of course not" Naruto replied nervously, while sweating up a storm.

"Good, now get going, otherwise it will be me who you'll be dealing with instead of the Iwa Shinobi!" growled the woman, before removing her blade from Naruto's face. (5)

Needing no further incentive, Naruto quickly grabbed Kosuke's arm and took off at a speed that would have made Gai and Lee green with envy.

At the same time, a now nervous Tekuno began to wonder if it wasn't too late for him to join Naruto and Kosuke, since he was now left alone with the She-Devil known as Uzumaki Kushina.

"Got a problem?" asked Kushina, giving Tekuno the same dark look she had given Naruto, after noticing that he was staring rather instantly at her.

"Nope, Not me, No ma'am, No problem here" replied the nervous man, as he took a few steps away from the woman. At the same time he also began to feel a little sorry for the approaching Iwa Shinobi, who had no idea of what they would soon be facing.

"Good..." said Kushina and she place her sword on her shoulder, "Since here they come," pointing at the approaching Iwa Shinobi.

Readying his weapons, Tekuno activated the surrounding traps, causing several explosions all around, scattering the enemy and filling the surrounding area with smoke. He then unleashed a barrage of projectiles and exploding notes on the enemy, killing three of them.

As the smoke slowly dissipated, two Iwa Shinobi jumped out but were quickly cut down by Kushina with her Katana. But when she landed back on the ground, a third Iwa Shinobi appeared out of the ground and attempted to run her through with his sword.

Sidestepping the sword stab, Kushina channelled her chakra into her blade and then spun around the young Shinobi, slashing him in the back. But before she could finish him off, she was forced to jump away to avoid several Kunai.

After landing back on the ground she got a better look at her assailant who was standing directly in front of her. "Kitsuchi?!"

"It's been a while Buraddi Shinku no Karui (Bloody Crimson Fury)" the Tsuchikage's son replied.

"Well this is a surprise, I didn't think I would find you here of all places, what happened? Did you get into another fight with your daddy?" taunted the red haired woman.

Growling at the insult, Kitsuchi former several hand seals and slammed his fist into the ground, encasing it in rock, and then leaped forward, intending to crush the female Uzumaki with a single punch.

Bringing up her blade, Kushina tried to block the powerful punch with her sword, but soon found herself being pushed back, due to the sheer power behind the punch. Realizing she was being overpowered, Kushina turned her body slightly and then spun around to Kitsuchi's left, who fell forward after Kushina moved away, allowing her slash him on the side.

Grunting in pain, Kitsuchi quickly jumped away before Kushina could slash him again.

"It seems you've improved since we last fought" growled the large man, holding his side in pain.

"You haven't seen anything yet!" yelled Kushina as she charged forward to re-engaged Kitsuchi.

Acting fast Kitsuchi countered by using Retsudo Tenshō (Tearing Earth Turning Palm), causes the ground surrounding Kushina to spiral inwards on itself, forcing the redhead to jump into the air to avoid being buried alive.

As she hung in midair, four Iwa Shinobi appeared around her and attempted to stab her with their Katana from all sides. But before they could, several chains erupted from her body, impaling one, while knocking the other three away.

When she landed back on the ground, two more Iwa-nin appeared out of the ground around her. The first grabbed her from behind, preventing her from moving or fighting back, while the second attempted to run her through with a Kunai. Before this could happen, the Iwa-nin holding Kushina was hit in the back with a Kunai, causing him to lose his hold over her. Allowing her to move out of the way second Iwa-nin, who was hit by another Kunai in the chest, courtesy of Tekuno, who then went back with dealing with the remaining Iwa Shinobi.

Signalling her thanks, Kushina then jumped to her left, avoiding a deadly punch to the face from Kitsuchi's Earth covered fist, who tried to take advantage of her distraction.

After avoiding the attack, Kushina then countered by throwing several Kunai with exploding notes attached to them. Realizing he wouldn't be able to avoid them, Kitsuchi created a large Earth wall to block the projectiles, but was blown back when the exploding notes activated and destroyed the wall.

"Guagh!...Damnit!" growled the bulky Iwa-nin as he checked himself for any serious injuries. At the same time the three Iwa Shinobi from earlier appeared next to him, preventing Kushina from taking advantage of the situation.

"Kitsuchi-taicho! Are you alright?" asked one Iwa Shinobi.

"I'm fine!" snarled the man, picking himself up.

"We'll assist you and..." but before the Shinobi could finish, Kitsuchi responded.

"No, you'll stay out of this, she's mine!"

"But Taicho!" replied the Iwa-nin, but before he could argue further, Kitsuchi continued.

"I have a more important mission for you three; you're to go after the old man and the boy and make sure that they don't escape."

Knowing that there would be no point in arguing with their captain, the three Shinobi nodded and took after Naruto and Kosuke.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted Kushina, as she took off after the Shinobi. But before she could catch up to them, a large Earth wall appeared in front of her, blocking her path.

"You're not going anywhere Uzumaki" Kitsuchi sneered, "You and I still have some unfinished business."

Growling, Kushina spun around the face the son of the Tsuchikage, knowing that she'd have to deal with him first, before she could help Kosuke and Naruto.

"Watch your back Naruto" Kushina said to herself as she prepared to re-engage Kitsuchi.

-End Naruto OST Raikiri-

-With Naruto and Kosuke-

After leaving Kushina and Tekuno to deal with the perusing Iwa Shinobi, Naruto and Kosuke made their way up a small mountain top. Making their way up, Kosuke notice Naruto looking back at direction they came from, where the others were fighting.

In the distance, they could still make out sounds of explosions, indicating that Kushina and the others were still battling with the Iwa Shinobi.

Placing a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder, the old man smiled kindly at the young boy. "Do not fret Naruto-san, Kushina-san and the others are all capable and highly skilled Shinobi, they'll be fine."

"Yea, I know" Naruto replied, knowing first hand just how strong his two teachers were. "I just can't help but worry."

"I understand, but they chose to stay behind so that we could warn Gōenka base of this attack. We must respect their wishes and do our duty."

Knowing that Kosuke was right, Naruto nodded and then followed after the elderly Shinobi.

Not long after though, Naruto and Kosuke found their path blocked by three Iwa Shinobi.

"My, my, it seems Iwa has recruited some awfully swift Shinobi" Kosuke remarked, upon seeing the three Iwa-nins.

"Damn, how the hell did they get ahead of us with us noticing?" Naruto asked.

Before Kosuke could answer, the three Shinobi threw several Shuriken at them, which Kosuke deflected, using his wok as a shield and then threw it at the three Shinobi.

Unafraid of the flying cooking vessel, the three Iwa Shinobi let it fly pass them, not knowing that hidden behind the wok was Kosuke. Once he was behind the three, Kosuke appeared from behind the wok and threw three Kunai, hitting two of the Iwa-nins in the back of the head. The third Kunai though was caught by the lead Iwa-nin, (being the most skilled of the three), as he turned to look at Kosuke. Naruto attempted to take advantage of the Iwa-nins distraction and knock him out with and enhance punch. But before his punch could connect, Naruto moved his arm to block a strong kick from the Iwa Shinobi that sent him skidding back.

Recovering quickly, Naruto prepared to strike back, but before he could, Naruto watched Kosuke wave his sword back and forth. As Kosuke continued, his arms suddenly started to multiple into a dozen waving swords, confusing both Naruto and the Iwa-nin.

Unable to move, the Iwa-nin was left completely open to attack, and was swiftly cut down by Kosuke.

"Whoa, what was that?" Naruto asked, having never seen a Kenjutsu technique like that, "Was that some sort of Genjutsu?"

"Close, it's actually a Genkenjutsu (Illusionary Sword Technique), the technique is called Konoha-Ryū Yanagi (Tree Leaf-Style Willow). The technique involves a user waving his or her sword back and forth, which when seen by the target locks them in a Genjutsu which causes them to hallucinate multiple waving arms. The movement resembles that of a willow tree blowing in the wind, hence the name. Once an enemy is caught in the Genjutsu, they are unable to move, making it easy for the user to dispatch them."

When Kosuke finished with the explanation, Naruto couldn't help but be impressed with the elderly man's skill, and wondered if he could get Kosuke to teach him it as well.

After making their way down the small mountain, Naruto decided to use his Chakura no Parusu (Chakra Pulse) technique to make sure that there were no more Iwa Shinobi nearby.

Watching Naruto search for enemies by touching the ground with his two figures, Kosuke couldn't help but be reminded of the Nidaime Hokage, who did same thing when he was locating enemies.

Once Naruto was sure that the surrounding area was clear of enemy Shinobi, the two took off into the forest. But not long after, Kosuke noticed something was up when saw a large flock of birds flying above him, chirping loudly, as if they had been scared by something, ahead.

Frowning "Naruto-san, please use your technique again to see if there are any enemies close by."

Curious by Kosuke's question, Naruto did as he was asked, and jumped off the tree he had been standing on. He then touched the ground with his index finger and released a large burst of Chakra into the ground, where he sensed a large group of Shinobi heading towards them.

"How did you know?" Naruto asked, as he turned to the elderly man.

"When you've been a Genin for fifty years, you pick up a few tricks" Kosuke replied cryptically, before asking, "Do you know how many there are and how far they are away?"

"About thirty, and they are less than five hundred meters away, heading straight for us."

"Then we must move quickly" Kosuke said, all humour gone from his voice.

Nodding Naruto followed after the elderly man, where they raced through the tree tops as quickly as they could.

Shortly after though, Kosuke turned to Naruto "Naruto-san, you should go on ahead to Gōenka base, while I lead the enemy away."

"But we can outrun them."

"No we cannot, there are simply too many of them for us to out run" Kosuke replied.

Unwilling leave the elderly Shinobi to face so many enemy Shinobi alone. Naruto tried to argue, but before he could even say a word, Kosuke cut him off. "Naruto-san, a Shinobi's first duty is to his village. One of us need to get to Gōenka base and warn them of this attack, we also must show Iwa that despite the battle with Suna and Oto, Konoha's military strength is still intact...So please go while there is still time."

After jumping off the tree they were on, Naruto turned to elderly man, who just smiled, "We're counting on you Naruto."

Growling in frustration, Naruto nodded, where the two of them separated, Kosuke headed east leaving tracks that the Iwa Shinobi could follow. Naruto on the other hand head south toward Gōenka base, while at the same time making sure that he left no tracks.

Not long after, the Iwa squad arrived and stopped where Naruto and Kosuke split up.

Studying the ground, one of the Iwa turned to their leader, Aotsuchi. "Their tracks show that they stopped here for a moment and then headed east, towards Konoha village."

"Yes but only one of them is headed that way, the other has gone south towards Gōenka base" said an Iwa Kunoichi, who was also the squad sensor.

Turning to Aotsuchi, another Iwa Shinobi asked, "Should we split up and follow them both?"

"No" answered the female Jonin. "The Princess and her team are in that direction, they can deal with the person heading to Gōenka base. We'll go after the one heading to Konoha."

"Shouldn't we at least send some of us to follow after the other Shinobi heading for Gōenka, and support Kurotsuchi-san and her team?" asked another Iwa-nin, who wasn't entirely convinced that this was a wise decision. "Kitsuchi-taicho did state that we were to join up with her squad and surround the enemy."

Not really caring about the Tsuchikage's granddaughter, the female Jonin shrugged. "Heh, the princess is a big girl; she and her squad should be able to handle one Konoha Shinobi. If not, well she clearly wasn't as good as her daddy thought she was."

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to convince his superior, the Iwa Shinobi just nodded. After which he and the others took off after Kosuke.

Several miles away from where Naruto and Kosuke spilt up, Kurotsuchi and her team waited for any sign of their target.

Hidden in a tree, Kurotsuchi scratched her eight line on the bark of the tree, one for each hour that she had been waiting. "How much longer are we going to have to wait?"

Moments after thinking this, Kurotsuchi heard the leaves rustling nearby, along with the sounds of movement. Readying her Kunai Kurotsuchi prepared to attack, but before she could the approaching person revealed himself to be Akatsuchi.

Seeing her friend and second in command Kurotsuchi lowered her weapon. "Akatsuchi you idiot, I nearly killed you!" She had sent out her friend along with two others to search for any sign of the Konoha Shinobi. Although this was the most direct route to Gōenka, there were other paths that their target could've taken.

"Sorry" said the bulky Iwa Shinobi with a goofy looking smirk before becoming serious. "I just got back and thought I should give my report."

"And?" asked the girl.

"No sign of the target or anyone else for a couple of miles, and none of the traps that we set up in the other areas were tripped."

"They could've passed them without triggering any of them" Kurotsuchi replied. But Akatsuchi shook his head. "I don't think so; we set up enough traps so that no-one could get through them without setting off at least one of them. Even if they had, they would've reached Gōenka by now and warned them of our attack. I met Isheki on my way back and he told me that he saw no sign of anyone coming from there."

"What about Rokku?" Kurotsuchi asked.

"I haven't seen him."

Frowning, Kurotsuchi was about to reply, but before she could she and Aktasuchi notice something appear out of the corner of their eyes. Turning they saw another Iwa appear before them, who they quickly recognised as Rokku.

Rokku was a young man in his early twenties with light-coloured, spiky hair. He wore a standard Iwagakure Shinobi outfit complete with his right sleeve missing as well as the forehead protector of the Iwa.

"Heya Rokku!" greeted Akatsuchi, "Your ears must have been burning; we were just talking about you."

"Yea well I got some news, I just saw our target" the Iwa-nin replied, gaining both Kurotsuchi and Akatsuchi attention.

"What? When? Where? How far?" Kurotsuchi asked, bombarding the Iwa Shinobi with several different questions at once.

"About fifteen minutes away, right behind me, heading straight here."

"How many are with him?"

"He's alone"

"Guess your dad and the others must've taken care of the rest of them" said Akatsuchi, turning to his female friend, who nodded.

"Did you see Aoitsuchi and her group?" Kurotsuchi asked, to which Rokku shook his head, "I didn't see them but they could've been further behind him, or been delayed."

"It doesn't matter" replied Kurotsuchi, shaking her head. "We don't need that's bitch's help anyway he's alone, get the others ready and we'll ambush him once he gets here."

Nodding the two Iwa Shinobi took off to get alert the others, leaving Kurotsuchi alone with her thoughts. "This should be interesting."

Shortly after Rokku returned with his news of Naruto's arrival, the Iwa Shinobi positioned themselves around the area and waited for him to appear.

The group did not have to wait for very long as Naruto soon appeared, racing through the treetops.

Once he was in position Kurotsuchi activated the exploding note on the tree branch that Naruto landed on, destroying the branch, causing Naruto to fall to the ground.

Recovering quickly Naruto landed on his feet, but no sooner had he landed on the ground a pair of hands sprung out of the ground underneath him and grabbed his feet, holding him in place. At the same time two other Iwa Shinobi appeared out of the ground and attempted to restrain Naruto. But before they could grab hold on him, Naruto charged his fist up with Chakra and slammed into the ground, pulverizing the ground and crushing the Iwa Shinobi underneath him, while forcing the remaining two to move back due to the flying debris.

When the dust settled, Kurotsuchi and the rest of her squad unleashed a shower of Shuriken from the treetops. They were then blocked when Naruto created a wooden dome around himself, protecting him from harm.

Shortly after the wooden dome appeared, Kurotsuchi and the others threw several Kunai with exploding notes tied to them and detonated them, destroying the wooden dome. But when the smoke from the explosion cleared they saw no sign of Naruto, instead just a hole in the ground.

"Crap he's gone underground" thought the dark haired girl before jumping to the ground and using Kaido Shōkutsu (Opening Earth Rising Excavation) creating a cone shaped mound, which shot Naruto out of the ground and into the air.

"Gotcha!" smiled the Tsuchikage's daughter. But her smile almost immediately fell when she saw vines shoot out of Naruto's right arm and wrap around a nearby tree branch, allowing him to swing onto another tree branch, where he then took off.

"Don't let him get away!" shouted Kurotsuchi as she and her squad took off after the Senju heir.

After chasing after him for about ten minutes, Kurotsuchi and her squad finally caught up with him when Kurotsuchi hit him in the leg with a Shuriken, causing him to fall into a small clearing. Wasting no time, the Iwa Shinobi quickly surrounded him and subdued him with some Ninja wire where they channelled a low stream of Lightning Chakra through the wire, causing Naruto's muscles to go stiff and numb, preventing him from moving or using his enhance strength.

"Heh, we've got him" Kurotsuchi said to herself as she slowly walked up to Naruto, who was growling in pain from the Lightning being sent into his body. "We meet again Senju Naruto."

Looking up, Naruto glared back at the girl, "Nice to see you too Yurasu, or should I say Kurotsuchi."

"Oh, so you know who I am? I'm impressed" replied the girl, somewhat surprised by the fact that Naruto knew her real name. "When were you on to me?"

"From the moment I first saw you" Naruto retorted coolly, despite the pain he was under.

Back when he was recovering from the invasion, the Sandaime had told him how the ANBU watching Kurotsuchi and her partner had lost sight of them during the chaos of the attack. Later he brought back an album with pictures full of all the known Iwa Shinobi and asked him to go through it to see if he recognised anyone. After several hours of looking through photos he finally recognised her, when he showed her picture to the Sandaime he revealed that Kurotsuchi was the Granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage, Ryōtenbin no Ōnoki (Ōnoki of Both Scales).

When Naruto learned who Kurotsuchi really was he was surprised to say the least. He had never expected the girl he had met in the streets was the Granddaughter of the Sandaime Tsuchikage, one of the oldest and strongest Shinobi alive today. From what he learned from his godfather's spy network, Kurotsuchi was a Chunin ranked Shinobi, highly skilled for her age and possessed Yōton (Lava Release), like the Godaime Mizukage.

"Well it doesn't really matter now, we got what we came for" shrugged Kurotsuchi. "You're our prisoner now."

"Wait, are you saying that this entire attacked was just so that you could capture me?"

"Pretty much" Kurotsuchi replied. "And now that we have you, we'll be taking you back to our village."

"Really?" asked Naruto, where to the surprise of Kurotsuchi and her squad he began to smile. "Well sorry to burst your bubble, but I have no intention of going anywhere near your village."

Thinking that Naruto was just trying to act tough, Kurotsuchi sneered back at the blonde boy. "Is that so? Well how exactly do you intend to escape?"

"By doing this" Naruto answered before disappearing in a puff of smoke, revealing him to actually be a Shadow Clone.

"What the...!" shouted one of the Iwa Shinobi.

"Shit! He's a clone!" yelled a Kunoichi.

"We've been had!" shouted Kurotsuchi, but before she or the rest of her squad could search for him. The real Naruto appeared out of the treetops, directly above the Iwa Squad and dropped a dozen smoke bombs down on top of them.

As soon as the bombs hit the ground they exploded and began to fill the entire clearing with gas.

"SCATTER!" roared Kurotsuchi as she jumped out of the clearing, covering both her mouth and nose at the same time, so not to breathe in the gas.

Unfortunately the majority of her squad did not escape in time and inhaled some of the gas, causing them to lose consciousness.

After escaping the gas, Akatsuchi and Rokku immediately began to look around to see if anyone else had escaped the gas.

Looking around Rokku suddenly yelled "Look out!" as he pushed Akatsuchi out of the path of several Senbon needles that appeared out of the gas cloud. But for his trouble Rokku was hit in the chest by the needles, causing his entire body going numb and collapse from the poison on the needles.

"Rokku!" cried Akatsuchi, upon seeing his friend being hit by a hail of Senbon needles and fall to the ground. But before he could go to his aid, Akatsuchi was forced to jump back when a pair of arms popped out of the ground and tried to grab his legs.

Moments later, Naruto appeared out of the ground and was then joined by a clone, which had just jumped out of a nearby tree.

With only seconds to act before Naruto and his clone would attack, Akatsuchi took out a handful of smoke bombs and threw them across the ground, covering the area in smoke.

After making their way out of the smoke cloud, Naruto and his clone suddenly found themselves under attack by a large creature made out of rock. The creature of course caught them by surprise at first, but they quickly regained their senses when they realised that the creature was a rock Golem, and leaped back.

At the same time the real Naruto threw an exploding note at the Rock creature, where as soon as it latched on, Naruto detonated the note, destroying the creature.

But as soon as they had done this, Naruto felt himself being pushed out of the way by his clone, saving him from a barrage of Kunai from Kurotsuchi, who had just arrived.

"Damn that was close" Naruto said to himself as he watched his clone disappear, after being hit by Kurotsuchi's Kunai. Moments later, Akatsuchi appeared out of the smoke carrying Rokku.

"You okay Akatsuchi?!" Kurotsuchi called out, while keeping both eyes on Naruto, who remained where he was, watching both of them.

"Yea, I'm fine, but the others are all out of it thanks to the knockout gas he used" Akatsuchi answered. "Rokku isn't doing much better; Senju must've covered the needles with some sort of drug."

Frowning at the news, Kurotsuchi knew that their job just got a lot harder, both she and Akatsuchi had seen firsthand just how strong Naruto was and knew that capturing him by themselves would difficult to say the least, if at all possible. "Guess we've got no other choice."

"Akatuchi! It's time to go to plan B"

Realizing what this meant, Akatsuchi nodded and placed his friend down behind a tree for safety. Once he had done this, he preformed several hand seals and slammed both his hands down onto the ground, creating a massive Earth dome around his unconscious comrades, protecting them from what was to come.

Seeing that situation was not in his favour, Naruto decided the best course of action was to make a tactical retreat to a more favourable location.

Before either Iwa Shinobi could attack, two Kunai appeared out of both Naruto's coat sleeves, which he then threw at the two. Both Akatsuchi and Kurotsuchi were able to evade the projectiles easily enough, but when they did they noticed the small flash bombs tied to the Kunai, which Naruto the activated, creating a blinding flash of light that temporarily blinded the two.

When the light from the flash died down, Kurotsuchi quickly scanned the forest for any sign of the Senju heir. "Shit! We lost him!"

"No Wait! He's over there!" Akatsuchi yelled, pointing at the retreating Naruto, leaping across the treetops.

Wasting no time, the two Iwa-nins quickly took off after the Konoha Chunin, where they soon caught up to him.

Once they were close enough Kurotsuchi threw a Kunai with an exploding note tied to it, destroying that branch Naruto had just stepped on, causing him to fall.

Recovering quickly, Naruto preformed a midair flip so that he would land back onto his feet. He then proceeded to race across the ground, trying to put as much distance between the two as possible. But before he could get very far he found his path blocked by a large Earth dome that formed around him, leaving only a single opening directly above him to escape from.

But at that moment Kurotsuchi appeared over the hole and spat out a massive stream of fire down into the hole, with the dome burning everything inside the dome to ash.

"He's finished!" Kurotscuhi declared as she jumped off the dome and landed next to Akatsuchi.

"You think we got him?"

"Of course!" replied Kuortsuchi. "There was only way out of there, and he didn't get by me. Even if he avoided a direct hit from my attack, the flames would've enveloped everything within the dome. Not to mention the heat alone from them would've killed him for sure. No-one could survive that, the kid is roasted!"

"You think the Tsuchikage will be mad that we killed him? Our mission was to capture him after all."

"It'll be fine" Kurotsuchi said, waving her friend off. "Jiji said that if we couldn't capture him, we were to kill him."

Shrugging Akatsuchi waited for the fire inside the dome to die down, once they had, he lowered his earth dome so that they could collect Naruto's body. Although the body would be badly burnt from the flames, it still had value to their village, where it could be examined and possibly help them understand and unlock the hidden power of Mokuton.

But when the dome was brought down, instead of seeing a charred corpse, they only saw scorched earth.

"Where's the body? Could it have been destroyed by the flames?" asked the confused Akatsuchi.

"It couldn't have, my flames weren't hot enough to do that!" exclaimed Kurotsuchi, who was just as confused by the situation as he was. But that was when she saw the large hole in the centre of the scorch ground, before she could say anything about it, a pair of hands suddenly popped out of the ground and grabbed onto her ankles and pulling her down into the ground, leaving only her head above it.

Moments later, Naruto popped out of the ground having used Moguragakure no Jutsu (Hiding like a Mole Technique) to escape Kurotsuchi's fire attack. After that, he waited for the two Iwa Shinobi to feel safe enough to let down their ground, allowing him to immobilise Kurotsuchi using the Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu (Double Suicide Decapitation Technique).

With Kurotsuchi momentarily disabled, Naruto quickly turned to Akatsuchi, who had just created another one of his Rock Golems and had it attack.

After sidestepping the Rock Golem's punch Naruto hit the creature with an enhanced knee kick to the stomach, causing the creature to shatter in pieces. But as soon as he had destroyed the creature, Akatsuchi used the Doryō Dango (Earth Mausoleum Dumpling) technique to lift the surface of the very ground up and hold up into the air.

"Shit!" was all that Naruto could say before Akatsuki threw the massive mound of earth at him.

Gathering his Chakra into his fist Naruto waited until the mound of Earth was right on top of him and shattered it with a single punch, sending debris flying everywhere, forcing Akatsuchi to move around to avoid them.

At the same time, Naruto manoeuvred around Akatsuchi using the rubble as a cover to sneak behind him. By the time the Iwa-nin realized what he was doing, it was already too late, as Naruto appeared behind him and hit with an enhanced spinning heel kick to the face, knocking the large Shinobi out and sending him crashing into several large trees.

"That's one down" Naruto told himself, before he was assaulted by several Shuriken flying towards him. Acting fast Naruto gathered his Chakra into his right fist again and pulverized the ground with a supercharged punch, causing rubble to fly everywhere, deflecting the projectiles, while creating a large dust cloud at the same time.

Using the cloud as a screen, Naruto manoeuvred towards the nearby trees in an attempt to find cover while locating his assailant.

But before he could reach the trees a large Earth wall appeared in front of him, blocking his path. No sooner had the wall appeared, Naruto was hit by several large boulder size clay-like bombs, which encased his body and harden around him.

"Damnit, what is this?!" Naruto shouted as she struggled to free himself.

"Heh, like it?" asked a grinning Kurotsuchi, appearing out the now dissipating dust cloud, having dug herself from the ground. "It's one of my Clan's special techniques called Sekkaigyō (Quicklime Congealing). The moment it hits something it begins harden to the point where it become as hard as cement, it's pretty handy when it comes to capturing tricky Shinobi like you."

Before Naruto could make any kind of a retort Kurotsuchi punched him in the face, knocking him out, or at least she thought she did until "Naruto" reverted into mud, revealing him to be an earth clone.

At the same time, several wooden tentacles sprung out of the ground and began to wrap themselves around Kurotsuchi and lifted her up into the air.

With only moments to act before she was completely bound, the young Iwa Kunouchi formed two quick hand seals and spewed out a long stream of Fire, aiming right for the base of the tentacles, causing them to burn and collapse, freeing her.

Once she was safely back on the ground, the real Naruto appeared directly above an preformed his mother's signature Tsūtenkyaku (Heavenly Foot of Pain) technique, which Kurotsuchi barely evaded by jumping away, causing Naruto to instead hit the ground.

"Shit that was too close!" the young girl said to herself as she held her head in pain after a piece of debris had hit her. Looking at the now destroyed ground, the dark haired girl couldn't help but shiver slightly at how close she had come to being hit by the blonde's attack. "If that attack had landed, I would've been splattered all over the forest."

Hoping to at least disable Naruto, Kurotsuchi fired another round of quicklime at the Senju heir, which he skilfully evaded, leaving much of the ground covered in the quicklime. But what he didn't know was that this was all part of Kurotsuchi's plan.

After three quick hand signs, Kurotsuchi brought her hand to her mouth and shot out a massive jet of Water from her mouth, aiming right for the quicklime, causing it to spread further across the ground. Naruto tried to avoid being caught in the substance, but misjudged how quickly it could spread as he leapt away, causing him to land on the lime, where it quickly harden around his feet.

Realizing he was stuck, Naruto cursed his short sightedness, but when he tried to free himself. Kurostuchi fired another large ball of quicklime; trapping his right hand and leg together in a thick layer of condense lime.

"You're not getting away that easily Senju!" Kurotsuchi yelled, before firing another condensed ball of quicklime at Naruto after noticing him pull something out of his utility belt with his remaining free hand, pinning it to his hip. But as soon as the lime hardened, it shattered, and revealed a yellow energy blade, which hummed loudly in the air.

Recognizing the blade, the Iwa Kunoichi could only stare is shock, "That's the Raijin no Ken (Sword of the Thunder God), the sword of Konoha's Nidaime Hokage. But that's impossible! Konoha lost that sword to Ame, so how?! And why didn't he use it during the Chunin exam?!"

Taking advantage of Kurotsuchi's surprise, Naruto shattered the lime covering his other hand and leg with the Raijin. After which he then gathered his Chakra into his right fist and punched the lime covered ground, destroying it.

Once he was free Naruto leapt forward and attempted to slash Kurotsuchi with the Lightning sword. But before he could reach her, the Iwa Kunoichi came to her senses and leapt onto the branch of a nearby tree.