The Akatsuki were stirring up trouble again, sweeping through villages and snatching up tailed beasts like they were collecting trophies.
Hidan and Kakuzu, two of Akatsuki's big shots, were leading the chaos this time around.
Hearing about their rampage, the Hidden Leaf Village quickly put together a squad of top-tier ninja to track down and handle these two troublemakers.
Tsunade had her heart set on including Naruto in the team, but the guy was off on another gig in the Land of Demons...
So, they had to roll without him, sending out a crew of elite ninja to get the job done.
But, when our guys finally caught up with the Akatsuki duo, they were in for a rude awakening. Hidan and Kakuzu were on another level, cornering our Leaf ninjas with their overwhelming power.
Shikamaru, Choji, Asuma, and the rest gave it everything they had, but they just couldn't cut it...
In the end, our team took a serious beating, and the Akatsuki slipped away...
But the loss was bigger than just the battle. The Leaf lost one of its pillars, Asuma Sarutobi, the Third's son, in the fray.
A couple of days after Naruto got back from his Land of Demons mission, the team that went after Akatsuki returned...
Word about Asuma's fall spread like wildfire, both inside the village and out.
The whole village was in mourning, having lost such a respected Leaf ninja...
The next day saw Asuma Sarutobi's funeral, with Leaf ninjas from village , including Naruto and Kakashi, coming together to pay their respects...
Naruto, standing beside Konohamaru, took on the role of both mentor and big brother, trying to offer some comfort in their shared loss.
After the funeral, Naruto spoke with Konohamaru and tried to console him.
Three days after the funeral, early in the morning...
Team 10, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino decided to take it upon themselves to go out and avenge the death of their mentor.
As they stood at the Konoha gate, ready to head outside the village, they heard a voice calling them, "Hold it!" from behind. They stopped and looked back.
It was Tsunade who was standing there. "My lady!" Ino exclaimed, a bit surprised to see Tsunade there.
"Are you going somewhere?" Tsunade questioned with a serious expression.
"The mission order is still on, right? We formed a new team, and we are going to execute the mission," Shikamaru replied.
"I will not allow selfish actions!" Tsunade said as she walked towards the team and stood at a small distance from them. "Shikamaru, I will have you join the new unit I form. Then, I will have you go after we come up with a solid plan," Tsunade said.
"Just send some support later. Our team has already come up with a plan," Shikamaru said.
"Enough!" Tsunade said, raising her voice. "Asuma is dead. There are only three of you now," Tsunade said.
"Asuma is with us," Shikamaru said.
"Are you planning to avenge him in this battle? It's not like you. Do you want to die in vain?" Tsunade questioned.
"We are not that stupid. I have no intention to die... But it's just that..." Shikamaru said as his voice dropped to silence.
"But… what?" Tsunade questioned.
"I don't want to give up without setting things straight," Shikamaru said as he lit a lighter in his hand. "I don't want to live a crappy life like that," Shikamaru said.
"Grow up... Death always haunts shinobi. There are times when you can't accept a death, but if you do not overcome it, then there is no future!" Tsunade said.
"This keepsake lighter, when I have this, it's as if Asuma-sensei is nearby... It's as if he is protecting us. It just feels that way. Until this battle comes to an end, the lighter will always be with us," Shikamaru said.
"Get real. There are only three of you. A unit should have four members..!"
"Count again!" A sound came as they all looked towards where the sound came from. "Hey, where are you guys looking? I'm right here!"
"Naruto!?" Tsunade exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, you see, you told me that I needed a team, so at first I thought obviously about Team 7, but they were busy... Then I found my best friend," Naruto said, pointing towards Shikamaru.
"So you're the one who planned this mission!?" Tsunade questioned.
"No, it was these three, but I somehow managed to find out about their plan and tagged along!" Naruto said. "We can go now, right?"
Tsunade remained silent.
"We have everything a squad needs, four members and one jounin as well!" Shikamaru said.
"Yeah, we should be allowed to go as Naruto is here!" Ino said.
"Okay! Fine, you're allowed to go!" Tsunade said.
"That's what I like to hear!" Naruto said with a smirk.
"Don't overdo it, I'll send a backup squad as soon as possible!" Tsunade said.
"You do it, but I doubt that will be needed," Naruto said. "Are we ready, team?" Naruto asked.
"Yes!" Ino and Choji said in unison as Naruto looked at Shikamaru. "You ready?" he asked, as Shikamaru nodded confidently.
With that, Naruto with Team 10 left the village for the mission to avenge the death of Team 7 leader Asuma Sarutobi.
[A. N: Thanks for reading, drop Powerstones that will help a lot and drop reviews if you like the story and add to your library]